Bonded
by AleatoryW
Summary: Neither one of them wanted this. At least, they said they didn't. But time together may be just what they each crave. Rated T to be safe.
1. What they didn't want

**Welcome! This story will be a nice long one, growing AU-ish as time passes. The story begins with Dooku's plan, and Ventress's dislike of said plan.**

**But first, I, crazy4asajj, solemnly swear that the following characters are not my own property, nor is the Star Wars universe. Sue me if you dare.**

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"No! I've done a number of difficult, irritating, and infuriating tasks, but this I won't put up with!"

"Ventress, you will do as you are instructed."

"I won't! If it's such a brilliant plan you do it then!"

"You will follow my plan, or face the consequences."

"I'll take the consequences then. I don't want anything to do with-"

"The consequences are death. As a last resort. Otherwise you will be forced to follow my plan."

"Never!"

That was when the super battle droids caught her by the arms, holding her up in the air. "You will follow the plan." Dooku left the room without another word. Now he just needed Kenobi, and his plan was complete...

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Count Dooku really had outdone himself this time. The place was completely secure. He'd inspected the whole room, and no way out. Not without a lightsaber anyway. He was now just waiting in the room, waiting for whatever it was Count Dooku wanted. Unless it was Ventress who had captured him... The idea of seeing her was both pleasing and horrible at the same time. Seeing her always made things more...complicated. Things got complicated because he was pleased to see her. And he was pleased because...The door opened, and his suspicions were dashed as Dooku stepped in, flanked by two battle droids. But wait, behind one of the droids followed Ventress, looking exceedingly angry. Two more droids followed her.

"Will this be satisfactory?" Dooku wasn't speaking to him, but to the assassin at his side.

Her lip curled into a sneer. "No. Kenobi is not _satisfactory._" They were talking about him? He'd never seen her look so displeased. Obi-wan soon found out why.

Dooku ignored her remark and spoke to his prisoner for the first time. "Kenobi. I assume you find this cell inescapable, as you're still here."

Obi-wan smiled slightly. "Quite correct, Count. You've done a brilliant job, really. Only one escape."

Dooku looked horrified. "Escape? Where?"

"Oh, I'll find one." He smirked at the pair. Ventress was uncharacteristically silent.

"Enough of your talk." Dooku was not so silent.

"Whatever you wish, Count."

"How can you be so respectful to him?" Ventress burst out suddenly. "He's going to kill you!"

"The Jedi are taught to respect their elders." He'd managed to both answer Ventress and get in a jibe at Dooku. He couldn't have done better.

"Silence Ventress. I'm not going to kill him, if all goes to plan." The Rattataki scowled and clenched her jaw, and Obi-wan was again confused. She usually showed the utmost respect towards her master. Dooku must have done something that really ticked her off. "Now Kenobi. I'm going to give you a choice."

"Let me guess. One option is you killing me?"

"Silence!" Between the two of them, he was going to go completely mad- mad as in crazy. For the present time, he was simply mad- mad as in angry. "Your first option is death."

Obi-wan brought one hand to his chin and pretended to think about this offer. "Hmm, very tempting. But tell me the other one first."

The sith lord took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself. He didn't notice Ventress imitating him exactly, much to the amusement of the Jedi prisoner. "Your other option is-"

"Master, it's not too late to reconsider." Asajj piped in, sounding hopeful. "If we never tell Kenobi the other option..."

"No. I've been planning this for weeks, and nothing you say can stop me." Her face showed anger, but also despair.

"So, what is this oh-so-wonderful offer?" Obi-wan couldn't help but feel curious. Ventress obviously disliked it. Perhaps Dooku wanted him to join the dark side? Ventress wanted him on the light side, maybe? Because he was her way out?

"Marry Ventress."

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**Ooo cliffhanger right? okay, honestly, who saw this coming? Am I being too predictable? And who wants to take a wild guess at Dooku's motives? You CAN answer all these questions, but only if you review!**


	2. May be what they need

**OK, so I left you guys hanging with the dramatic line "Marry Ventress", then I posted two other stories, and I bet you're already ticked off at me for not updating Shadow, but... I just felt like this one needed an update. So here you go!**

Obi-wan paled. Sure, he felt something for her, perhaps, but _marry her? _He didn't dare meet her eyes. So this was why she was so angry.

"So, Kenobi," Dooku spoke again, "which option would you like?" It was the sith's turn to smirk at him.

"The, uh, Jedi code forbids attachment, so I, uh...I can't." he was careful to keep his eyes trained on Dooku; locking eyes with _her_ would be too embarrassing.

"So much for your plan Master. Oh well..." she smiled a weak sort of smile and turned to leave. The droids behind her caught her. She struggled against them for an instant, then gave in to the fact that Super battle droids have super strength. Asajj hated this. Hated feeling trapped. And she certainly wanted nothing to do with Kenobi. "I would rather die then marry Kenobi!" she announced dramatically, and Obi-wan felt a bit hurt. So much for his dreams of her maybe feeling anything for him.

Dooku spoke again, interrupting both of their thoughts. "You chose Kenobi. Now you must accept the consequences of your decision." The Count was the only person in the room who wasn't absolutely humiliated.

"I've changed my mind." she growled. "I want... Kit Fisto."

"No, because once I track down this Fisto for you, you'll just change your mind and want Skywalker, and then-"

"I will never want Skywalker!" she yelled in the middle of his explanation.

"Then take Kenobi."

"Easy for you to say. No one's forcing you to marry a Jedi scum."

"Ventress, you were chosen for this for many reasons, reasons we shouldn't discuss in front of _him._" Dooku glanced at Kenobi for a second, then back at his apprentice. "Now follow me, both of you. All you need to do is sign, and say 'I do'. Simple enough even for the idiot you picked."

Kenobi, ignoring the fact that he'd just been called an idiot, interrupted. "But the Jedi code! I really can't...marry...anyone." Obi-wan and Asajj still weren't looking at eachother. Dooku seemed to find this humorous.

"I believe the counsel will understand that you had no choice, not that you'll ever be seeing them again."

"But why me? I had nothing to do with any of this. Was I just the first Jedi you could lay your hands on?" Asajj didn't know how, but he still managed to smirk at her master. How could he even feel anything but anger?

Dooku returned the smirk. "Ventress chose you herself." He whirled and left the room abruptly, and the droids followed. This time, Obi-wan couldn't resist looking over at her.

"You choose _me?_"

"He's lying." she muttered, ducking her head slightly and following her master, and the Jedi smiled. He'd seen a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

An hour later, Obi-wan had been fitted with a force suppressing wrist cuff and a chip of some sorts in his arm, married to the assassin who'd been trying to kill him, escorted by Dooku himself into a large set of rooms, and locked up in them. He was cut off from the Force almost completely- enough that he couldn't do anything, but still able to be sensed enough that he didn't go bonkers. Asajj was pacing like a caged animal, even though these were most likely her own rooms.

"How can this happen? Why is he doing this to me? His own apprentice!"

"I take it you aren't pleased with these arrangements?"

For once, she didn't appreciate the sarcasm, though she added some of her own, as he had assumed she would. "Pleased? I'm absolutely _ecstatic._ Why would I _not_ want my worst enemy to be locked up in my personal quarters? The one place I used to be alone. And now you're here. It's just...it's just peachy."

"Am I that horrible? Really?"

"Don't lie and tell me you enjoy this."

"I'm not saying I enjoy this. I want to go back home."

"Deal with it Kenobi. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed." She stalked past him towards the other door, but he caught her by one shoulder.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" She shrugged his hand off.

"Wherever the force you want. Just not by me." She stormed into her own bedroom and flopped on her bed. Rage was flowing through her whole body. Locked up with Kenobi. She was locked up with Kenobi. And she only had been for maybe fifteen minutes. According to Dooku, they'd have to be together for forever. The rest of her life. She was going to lose her sanity, no doubt about it. She should have picked Fisto. Anyone but Obi-wan.

As though he could hear her thinking his name, he appeared in the doorway. "So you choose me. I thought you hated me."

"I do hate you and I didn't choose you."

"Dooku said you did."

"Dooku was lying. You were just the first Jedi we caught."

"Alright." Much to her surprise, he seemed to accept her lie. "So, we're stuck here?"

"I'm not. I'll be continuing my usual missions. You will be here the rest of you life."

Obi-wan sighed now. "Can you get me a pillow? I don't have my cloak."

"Your what?"

"My cloak. I don't have it." She didn't know what his cloak had to do with anything, but she brought him a pillow anyway, as well as a few blankets, then watched as he flopped down on the floor in the center of the room, still wearing his armored robes. She shrugged and climbed into her own bed, slapping the light button to make the room go dark. It had been one long day. And something made her think tomorrow would be even longer. She was completely right.

**i you liked it, that's good. if you could reveiw, that would be better. If you liked it sooooo much that you reviewed, added to faves, read all my other stories, reveiwed all of them, and did a happy dance, well, to put it simply, THAT'S AWESOME! and you're slightly crazy. But that's ok. crazy people are fun. Oh, and put in your review if you did a happy dance? please? I'm just curious who likes happy dances...**


	3. What they said they hated

**Erm, hello. you're probably thinking, WhatTheHeck? why is she typing this one now? why not shadow? why not all her other stories? I just started thinking about this, and couldn't stop, and I got this idea, so, I typed it. I'm sure you remember what happened right? Of course you do, loyal reader. It is to you that all the credit goes. Well, you and George Lucas, but I'm talking to you, because there is a 0% chance he will read this. You, the readers, are the people who prevent me from being a crazy who talks to herself on the net. You, the readers, are the ones who write the glowing reveiws that make me all happy inside and sometimes crack me up. So, kudos!**

**Oh, and if you see another one-shot from me soon, don't be surprised. I had an idea.**

**P.S. this is the first ever part of a story typed entirely on my new laptop!**

**P.P.S. did you know that if you searchg Google for "Ventress Obi wan romance fanfiction" Shadow is one of the first results? meep!**

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Obi-wan woke the next morning stiff and sore. Sleeping on the floor was not the way to get a good night's sleep, and he'd slept in his armored robes, which had pressed uncomfortably into his back. He sat up slowly, glancing at Asajj's bed, which was empty. Driven by hunger, he pushed himself to his feet and wandered to the main room he'd been in last night. Asajj was there. She was warming up, stretching slowly. But it was her attire that caught his eye. Her arms were bare, her torso was partially revealed, and her long lean legs were shown off from knee down. Maybe it was a simple, hormonal reaction that made his breath catch. Or maybe it was because this was _her_. After all, Aayla wore much more revealing clothes then this, and he'd never gazed at her like this. Mostly he found himself admiring her arms. Like the rest of her body, they had soft, white, silky skin, and the muscles beneath were tight and lean. Obi-wan longed to touch her arm, just reach out and lay his hand there. He'd long since shed his gloves, and he wanted to feel her skin.

She finally turned to the door, aware of his presense. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here now." He answered, taking his weight off the doorway where he'd let himself lean.

"Oh, yes. I can't do anything anymore without you butting in." The assassin sank into another graceful lunge, extending her arm and stretching out her long slender fingers, making a chill go down Obi-wan's back.

"Why, what do you want to do that I'm preventing you from doing?" Maybe she just didn't like his eyes on her as she warmed up. He hastily glanced down at the floor.

"Nothing really, I mean, Dooku doesn't seem to know how to knock anyway."

As if on cue, Dooku slid the door open and stuck his head in. "Ah, you're awake. Ventress, I need you to polish the lightsabers."

"How many can there possibly be?"

"Your two, mine, Kenobi's, and Greivous's four."

She groaned. "Cant the droids…"

"No. They did a horrible job last time." Dooku then seemed to notice Obi-wan for the first time. "And you. How was your night?"

"Horrible. As much as I enjoy your hospitality, Count, I'd appreciate a bed."

"No. however, the droids will be bringing you some clothes, as well as a few other objects that my apprentice has no need of."

"Master, why not?" asked Asajj, only barely managing not to whine.

"I have my reasons. You know what those reasons are Asajj." He gave her a stern look before he left, closing the door behind him.

"What are his reasons? And what does it matter to you whether I get a bed or not? And what could I possibly need that you wouldn't have?"

"You want to wash your hair, don't you? And it matters because I don't want to sleep on the floor."

"I'm the one on the floor."

"Half the time. The other half I'm the one who wakes up sore." She glared at the door where Dooku had left as though he could see her anger through the door.

"You don't have to, you know," said Obi-wan softly.

Ventress smiled slightly. Leave it to Obi-wan to offer her his turn with their bed. Another reason she'd chosen him. He gave so much. And he certainly held nothing against her. "No, Kenobi. We'll take turns nice for the Count. I have to go polish lightsabers, apparently." She pulled on a loose, sleeveless shirt before she slipped out the door, leaving Obi-wan alone.

She hadn't walked far before she heard the clanking of either a dozen battle droids, or a certain cyborg who occasionally stayed on this ship. It was said cyborg, she noted, as she rounded a corner.

"Hello, assassin," he growled, his usual manner of greeting.

"Pleasure General." She remarked rather sarcastically as she strode past him. He seemed to take this offensively, as he decided to annoy her.

"How was the honeymoon?" His voice dripped mockery.

The effect of the words was astonishing. Her eyes widened, her heart skipped a beat, and she whirled to face him. "You know very well I didn't want this," she hissed through gritted teeth, eyes blazing with fury.

"Of course you didn't." He spoke as though he didn't believe her. "You couldn't help but choose the great General Kenobi."

"And who did you expect me to pick? Someone who will strangle me in my sleep?" She was glaring up at him with a look that would have terrified mere mortals. But not Grievous.

"I want Kenobi dead. And now he will live happy and protected." He narrowed his eyes.

"Well, you'll have to deal with that. Kenobi is mine now."

"Of course," Greivous let out a raspy chuckle. "And you're all his, I suppose." Ventress let out a frustrated growl and turned to stalk off before he could annoy her any further. She was too late. "Running back to your precious Jedi's arms, are you?" he sneered.

Time to bring out the big guns. "Just as soon as you admit to your favorite Togruta how very much you admire her." She turned to face him as she spoke, enjoying the shock and horror she saw in her ally's catlike eyes.

He started to stomp past her, knowing he couldn't counter that, but he couldn't resist muttering "Asajj Kenobi." under his breath as he passed.

She lost her temper and aimed a perfect kick at the back of his knee, making him fall forward. Ventress caught his shoulder and shoved him facedown to the floor, then said quietly, "Actually, I kept my name."

Grievous couldn't take this like a gentleman, and he couldn't just push her off. He grabbed her shoulder, lifted her up, and slammed her to the wall. "Doesn't change the fact that you slept with Kenobi," he leered.

This final jab at her pride was too much. She struggled against his clawed hand before she finally force-shoved him off. "Shut up!" she choked as she scrambled up and fled, headed for her rooms, lightsabers forgotten.

"Run to Kenobi," she heard him growl from behind her, but he didn't chase her.

Obi-wan, meanwhile, had begun investigating the room where he was held. He began with her desk, in the hopes that there might be something useful there. He pried the lid off a small dusty box, expecting something very business-y inside. Instead, there was a small stack of mismatched papers. First was a stack of photos. A few were of a Rattatakki man and woman, with a small girl standing in front of them. A few more were of a human man with the same girl, but much older. Obi-wan shivered slightly. They must be pictures of Asajj's childhood. She had a beautiful, girlish smile, and wide, impish eyes. Under the photos were several sheets of plain beige paper, each bearing a small sketch of something different. They were quite good, Obi-wan reflected, wondering if Asajj had drawn them herself, or if someone in her past had been an artist. A lightsaber, green blade ignited; a small bird from another planet; a woman's hand; a battle droid with a comical expression that perfectly captured their ignorance. He turned over another sheet of paper, and gasped. It was a clipping from an old-fashioned paper newspaper, and the picture was of himself. 'General Kenobi believes Ventress redeemable!' screamed the headline. He remembered the article well.

_General Obi-wan Kenobi, commander in the Grand Army of the Republic and Jedi Master, admitted in an interview that he believes Asajj Ventress, dark assassin, leader of Separatist armies, and Count Dooku's loyal apprentice, can be3 brought back to the side of the Jedi. "Yes, I do," said Kenobi in a brief interview with reporter Robert Alerist. "I've fought her, and I know that she's not evil. She's being misled, manipulated, and used by Count Dooku, and once she escapes him, she'll be a valuable resource to us. But really, I just don't want to see this happen to her, and as a Jedi, I want to save her before it's too late." When asked if he had any romantic feelings for the assassin, Obi-wan answered awkwardly that as a Jedi, he had no feelings for anyone, and certainly not a darksider._

The article had continued with more of his comments on other issues, but Asajj had torn off the article there. He was about to place it back in the box when the door flung open and Asajj was there. She had looked upset, until she noticed what he was doing. Then she just looked angry. "Put that down!" she snarled, snatching the article from his hand and putting it away. He watched, feeling slightly guilty, as she jammed the lid on the box viciously and shoved it in a drawer which she then slammed shut.

"Don't touch that stuff." Ventress growled, turning to face him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know…I just… did you draw those pictures?" he asked softly.

"Maybe. What does it matter?"

"I was just curious. And the article…"

"I like knowing what people are saying about me," she snapped defensively. That was when Obi-wan noticed the mark on her shoulder that hadn't been there before.

"What happened to your shoulder?"

"I got in a fistfight with Grievous." She muttered as she brushed past him and sat down on her bed.

"Force, and you got out _alive?"_

"He wasn't trying to kill me, just annoy the living _Force_ out of me," she growled.

"What did the idiot do now?" Obi-wan asked with a sigh, sitting down next to her. As much as she hated to admit it, she rather liked that he cared. Of course, telling him would be awkward.

"He, erm, asked how the honeymoon was." She suddenly gazed down at her bare feet, unable to meet Obi-wan's eyes.

"Oh." The Jedi, too, had taken an express interest in gazing at his own feet.

"Hopefully Dooku will admit this plan is a fail eventually and we'll be able to send you back where you belong," she growled. "Maybe get un-married."

"I don't think we can."

"Well, why not?" she demanded, looking back at his face.

"You remember how Jedi never break their word?"

"Oh, force no." Asajj flopped over and buried her head in her own pillow.

"I swore to always be with you, protect you, and love you 'til death do us part. Remember?"

"Hmmm. Death do us part?" she sat up and glanced at him, a glint in her eyes.

"Don't even think it." Obi-wan challenged, knowing she wouldn't really.

"Can't help it. Violent thoughts pop into my head around you." She dropped back onto the pillow. "And you're not exactly being very loving. So if you can break part of it, why can't you break all of it?"

"That's just not how it works. And if you really wanted me too, I could be 'loving'. But I don't think you want me fawning all over you." She could see his gentle smirk without even looking; it was reflected in his voice perfectly.

"No, please. Grievous is bad enough already without any PDA." She was rather glad her face was hidden in her pillow, as she blushed a bit. What with discussions on PDA and honeymoons and all…

Obi-wan was tempted to say that he couldn't help it, as romantic thoughts popped into his head around her, but decided she'd already had enough teasing from Grievous. "Better polish the 'sabers." He remarked as she sat back up. Finally, he caved to the urge to touch her and laid one hand on top of hers. He certainly hadn't expected a sudden spark of energy to pass between them, or, worse still, a bond to join their minds.

"What was that?" Asajj asked cautiously. She coud feel a tiny bit of Obi-wan's Force presence _in her mind._

"A Force bond." Obi-wan could just barely reach it, cut off from the Force as he was, which was surprising. He couldn't reach any of the other Jedi, and they also shared a Force bond like this one. "It occurs when two Force-sensitives touch. And I guess it just happened between us."

"But…But you've touched me before. You caught my wrists once, during a fight."

"I had gloves on then, I guess."

"This is bad." She said darkly.

"No, it's really not. I have a bond like this with almost all the other Jedi, and it's not that horrible. They can usually only feel very strong emotions from me." Obi-wan gently reassured. But he wasn't quite sure. Was it simply a matter of distance that allowed him to feel Asajj's presence and not the Jedi's? Or was this a different sort of bond?

"I know. I had one with my old Jedi master. But this is stronger." She was gazing down at her hand where he'd touched her. Then her expression grew darker. "Great! As though it's not bad enough to have to live with you, now we're sharing mind space!" Sure enough, Obi-wan found he could feel her frustration. He tried to counter it by sending her reassurance, as he had before to other Jedi, not sure it would work in his Force-deprived state. It obviously did, as she glanced at him, miraculously calmer. "What was that all about?" she asked.

"I just… I'm not going to invade your mind or anything. I'll keep out." Kenobi offered. Ventress sighed.

"I'm going to polish sabers." She slid off the bed and left the room, wondering just what Grievous would say if he knew about this.

**well, lots happened, huh? some of that there arguement with Grievous is why this is T rated. And now you finally know why this is called "Bonded"! and, I'd appreciate it if you reveiwed. how did you like the Grievous fight? and her convo with Obi? The next chapter will have soooo much more mush, I promise. (if you dislike mush, well, I'm sorry?) even if you dislike, I'd still like a reveiw. I'm always open to critism.  
TTFN!**


	4. Was what they craved

**I appologize in advance to any Grievous fans, as he and Asajj have another, more serious spat in this chapter.**

**I really went a bit nuts with the length of this one. almost ten pages in Word! and it's soooo fluffy. And long. timeframe at the end of the chapter is like two months from the end of the last one. O.o - that's an interesting face. **

**I don't own. I just admitted it. so you can't sue. ha ha, lawyers of the world. ha ha. **

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Chapter 4

Asajj was tossing and turning, attempting to sleep on the cold hard floor…and through her nightmares. She'd always been a very light sleeper, waking very easily and immediately ready for a fight. Living in a place like Rattatak had taught her that, and with Jedi everywhere, she sometimes didn't even feel safe in her own quarters. So when something brushed her arm, she woke instantly, and her initial reaction was one of terror. General Kenobi was standing over her. She started, drawing in a sharp breath, and drew out both of her sabers, which she always kept beside her bed

"It's just me." Obi-wan's features were outlined in red.

"Well sorry," she muttered, embarrassed slightly. She drew in the blades and laid her sabers back on the floor. "I see a Jedi standing over me, I prepare for attack. It's a natural reaction."

"Yes, but you know I'm defenseless, and you know I wouldn't attack you even if I was armed."

"You wouldn't need a saber to kill me Kenobi. You could kill me with your bare hands if you wanted to." She shivered slightly. It was foolish to fear him, but she was still uneasy from her nightmare. Always she was the cornered unarmed one, while dark, faceless shadows pursued her.

"I'd never hurt you." Kenobi gazed down at her as he spoke. "That's something I promise on my own, no matter what Dooku does." The Jedi thought he saw a slight smile on her face.

"I appreciate it Kenobi." And she did.

Slowly time passed. They grew more used to their new living arrangements, and they grew used to eachother. They took turns sleeping on the floor, and they talked whenever they could, as Asajj was gone for training most days. It was about a month after Obi-wan's arrival when Dooku finally expressed his annoyance with the lack of results from previously mentioned Jedi.

"Yes, my Master?" Asajj lifted her head from her deep bow before the holo-communicator, where Dooku's glowing blue silhouette stood, stern as ever.

"I'm not pleased with you."

"I apologize, Master." Couldn't he just tell her what was wrong? Sometimes, her master was so…irritating.

"We have held general Kenobi captive for almost a month."

"Yes, master." _For crying out loud, just tell me what you want!_

"And he has told us nothing."

"No, Master."

"And you can't feel the slightest hints of darkness about him?"

"No, Master."

"And you're not…"

"No." She cut him off abruptly, not wanting to hear his next statement.

"I was hoping by now you'd have gotten something from him. He's bound to let something slip."

"He's quite careful Master. I believe he will eventually give me something, but his guard is still up."

"Then you must take it down. Do whatever you can. I want to know the location of the Republic's next attack. If you don't have that when I speak to you again in the next standard planetary rotation, there will be consequences."

Asajj dragged her feet on her way back to her rooms. She had twenty-four hours to convince Obi-wan that he should just hand over whatever information they needed. She considered torture for half a second, but dismissed it immediately. She couldn't do that to Obi-wan, even if he would have broken. Mental torture, perhaps, but she still couldn't do that to him. Especially considering that he planned on doing exactly as he'd sworn to in protecting her. It would be wrong to hurt him. She'd have to trick him into slipping it out, or she'd have to do what Obi-wan was so well known for doing: negotiating.

"Kenobi." She acknowledged as she sat down near him on her own bed. The Jedi had both eyes closed, most likely attempting to meditate, even with his cutoff from the Force.

"Hmm." He didn't open his eyes.

"I was wondering something."

"Oh?" Obi-wan didn't bother looking.

"You know quite a bit about… oh, say, Republic battle plans?" Obi-wan's lips twitched slightly, but other than that, he didn't move.

"I suppose." He knew what was she getting at.

"Could you maybe tell me, perhaps, the location of your next attack?"

"Don't think so, my dear." If he met her eyes, it would've been hard to say the words so casually, but now it was easy.

"Not even to save your own life?"

"Sorry. No."

"Obi-wan, I have no doubt that Dooku plans to kill you."

"I don't doubt that he does. But revealing something like that puts my troops' lives at risk, as well as the lives of my fellow Jedi." His own death would be no great shock to the others. He was already classified as 'Missing, Assumed Dead' according to the headlines of a newspaper he'd managed to scrounge from Asajj. He'd also noticed, with a wry smile, that the acronym of this was 'mad'.

"How about MY life Obi-wan? Ever considered mine?"

"Of course I have. But I still cannot betray my troops and my friends." Asajj barely restrained a growl of frustration. He spoke only as the Jedi taught him to, like a machine. He was far too disciplined. It was then that she decided that even if she could not bring darkness into him, she _would _break that discipline.

"And how about if they received one of their best generals back to help them?" Obi-wan opened his eyes for the first time in their conversation.

"You'd let me go?" His mind suddenly flooded with images of himself arriving home, greeting friends, free again, sinking into his own bed…

"Well, I'd have to ask Dooku, but I think… I think so." It was a lie. Dooku wouldn't let a Jedi escape this easily.

Obi-wan heaved a great sigh. "Take me to see him then." He wore the same look of submission she remembered him wearing on their wedding day, less than a month ago. The image flooded to her mind.

_Dooku had read a bunch of rabble about sickness and health, then Obi-wan, in his torn dirty Jedi robes- undoubtedly torn from being dragged here by droids- had sighed, "I do." And then Dooku had asked her the same question, and she'd spit the same words out with a rage she'd never felt before._

_And then came the final insult: Dooku had looked at them with humor on his face and mocked, "You may now kiss the bride." She and Obi-wan had both glared at him with stony coldness. It was a look she'd mastered, but the effect had been ruined on Obi-wan by his fierce blush._

Asajj felt slightly guilty as she led Obi-wan down hallways to Dooku's office. Obi-wan couldn't sense that she was lying, as he still wore the force suppressing cuff, as well as a pair of old Jedi robes that were far too long on him. Grievous gave him a look somewhat like a sneer as they passed, and she scowled at him. She hadn't forgotten his insults.

"So, the Jedi has consented to telling us?" Dooku tapped the tips of his fingers together as Ventress led the handcuffed Kenobi forward.

"He has. Go on, spit it out."

"Ryloth." Obi-wan said dejectedly. "We're planning a surprise attack in only a few standard weeks."

"Very good." Dooku responded, then waved a hand towards the door. "You may leave."

"But I want you to release me, Count." Ventress cursed under her breath. The man was going to get himself killed.

"I don't think you'll be leaving this base alive, Kenobi."

"Ventress said you'd release me."

"I said he might." She retorted. Obi-wan stared at her for a second in disbelief.

Dooku snorted. "She lied, obviously. But it doesn't matter, as long as we have what we want. Leave." This was no command to be taken lightly. Asajj practically dragged Obi-wan out by his handcuffs, but at the last minute Dooku added, "Ventress, let me have a word with you alone."

"Of course, Master." She handcuffed Kenobi to a bar in the hallway before she slipped back into her master's office, ignoring the Jedi's look of cold fury. She'd lied to him. He'd trusted her, like the fool he was, and she'd lied.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Obi-wan recognized the voice at once. "Chained to a wall, are we Kenobi? And how are we liking this?"

"I don't know about you, Grievous, but I'm not liking it a bit."

"Well then, perhaps I'll cut you free." The cyborg slashed through the handcuffs far too close to Obi-wan's skin, leaving a slight mark. The Jedi was beginning to see what was going on here. This was Grievous's best possible situation: his least favorite Jedi, unarmed, alone in a Separatist base, and cut off from the force.

"Scum." All pretext of a friendly conversation was dropped, and Grievous sent Obi-wan flying with one powerful swipe down the hallway, farther from Ventress and Dooku, his only hopes of living. He staggered to get back up, but Grievous was too quick. His large metal foot slammed hard into the side of Kenobi's ribs, knocking him sideways. Obi-wan let out a whoosh of breath and gritted his teeth against the pain in his side. Nothing was broken, for Grievous wasn't yet ready to kill. He'd rather make his prey die slowly, kicking with far less than his full strength until he tired of the game.

Kenobi scrambled up from this one, hoping he could get past the cyborg to Dooku's office, but this was a hopeless mission. Grievous kicked him back again and again, until at last he lay panting, finally unable to get up. The cyborg got him up forcefully, gripping his throat and shoving him back against the wall.

"Time for you to die, Jedi fool." He could feel himself losing breath as the metal claws tightened around his windpipe, stars were swimming in front of his eyes…

"Drop him, Scrap metal." Obi-wan felt the claws loosen a bit, but they still held him tightly.

"What do you care for the puny Jedi? You benefit as much as I do in killing him."

"I care for following our Master's orders." Truthfully, she did care for the Jedi. A spear of cold panic has seared through her heart when she'd seen Obi-wan, struggling for breath while Grievous laughed. It made her hate Grievous, something she'd never done before. They usually got on alright.

"I care for killing Jedi." He caught up one of Obi-wan's hands, which were prying at the cyborg's claws, and twisted Kenobi's arm backwards. The Jedi let out a whimper of pain that pulled at Asajj's heart.

"I said drop him. Now. Or I make you."

"You think you can make me?" he retorted, but he let go of Obi-wan, who lay gasping for air where he hit the floor.

"It's a possibility." She was glaring up at him with a look in her eye that was positively vicious. "I'm getting tired of you pushing other people around. Just because you're bigger and stronger, you think you're the boss of me, and everyone else around here. And you think you can break whatever rules you like and attack defenseless prisoners. And I've had it." For a few seconds, Grievous stared down at her with narrowed, cat-like eyes, and she thought he might give in. Then he toppled her over with one hard backhanded swipe to her jaw. Ventress scrambled back up quickly, as Grievous was already advancing towards Obi-wan's still body. She shot in front of him, lightsaber ignited.

"I mean it." Her voice was an angry hiss.

"The trouble, Girl, is that I have sabers as well." He lit all four sabers, advancing towards Asajj and Obi-wan, but Asajj force-shoved him backwards. His metal body clanged as it hit the wall, and he regained his footing almost immediately. Grievous could have easily beaten her, but at that point decided a fight wasn't worth it.

"Very well. Take your Jedi. But I will kill him. You can't keep him safe forever." He clomped off angrily, leaving Asajj alone with her Jedi.

"Thank you," Obi-wan said graciously as he got to his feet, still breathing hard. Asajj blushed slightly at his kind words, but she said nothing. All the bitterness between them was forgotten, and from then on they were closer than even before. Both knew what Grievous had said to be true. She couldn't always protect him.

Dooku, of course, couldn't be content with the bit of information she'd gotten him. Over the next several days, he pestered her for more. What else did Kenobi know? Did he have any plans memorized? Would there be any new attacks in the next few days?

The answer she very much wished to give him was "shut up, Dooku." This was a very bad idea, however, as she very much wished to keep her head. So she had to suffice with a simple "I don't know. He's very closed off."

This wasn't exactly true either. Obi-wan had never let one thing slip about battle plans, no matter how many times she brought it up. But he was certainly not closed off. Obi-wan had opened himself up to his lonely jailor. He wanted her close, more for her sake then his own, because he somehow felt that she needed him. She needed someone to care. And he would be- always had been- that person. And of course, he liked her close. He wanted her friendship, and, if he was truly honest with himself, her affection. He'd been attracted to her since the day they'd met.

Asajj's rooms were neat, always had been, and she did whatever cleaning was needed herself. But Obi-wan soon got in the habit of cooking; something she'd never had the time to do. Obi-wan had great quantities of time while she trained in the daytime, and they were both sick of ration bars. Asajj would come home to find Obi-wan serving some dish that he'd learned from various Jedi, sometimes recipes from years ago, that had been passed through generations of Jedi.

And Asajj brought home a chessboard. Obi-wan's eyes lit up with delight as she set the small table down in the center of their bedroom.

"Chess!" He'd exclaimed. "How did you know I like chess so much?"

She'd only shrugged. "I didn't. I just never had a reason to own one before now." Asajj had never played the game, so Obi-wan began teaching her in evenings how to work the board, how pieces moved, and strategies that would allow her to win. She was a bit frustrated at first, as Obi-wan beat her easily, but she warned him not to go easy on her, or she wouldn't play anymore. Still, she had yet to win a game.

And Obi-wan grew quite fond of Asajj's window. It wasn't a real window, as her room was buried somewhere in a whole mess of other rooms, but a large screen. When turned on, it showed various scenes from various planets. The time 'outside' changed as the day wore on, giving off as much light as a window would for the right time of day, so that it brightened the whole room at midday, but barely glowed at all on moonlit nights, and no light was emitted when it was stormy or dark. He would meditate while looking "through" it, relaxing and reaching out to what he could feel of the force.

It was over a month from Kenobi's first meeting with Dooku when the Sith demanded to see them again. So one evening, Obi-wan was once again handcuffed and brought to Dooku's office.

"General Kenobi. My apprentice says you haven't told her anything helpful."

"I've taught her chess." Obi-wan pointed out. Asajj swallowed nervously. This wasn't going well.

"If you are no use to us, then you _will_ be disposed of. Correct?" the last word, Asajj realized, was directed towards her.

"I suppose Master, but he has been useful. He told us about the Ryloth attack."

"By the time we got forces to the planet, we'd already lost the battle. Their losses were greater, but the planet was still taken. We need more from you Kenobi. If you're not going to join us, or impr…"

Asajj jumped in at this point. "He isn't dark Master. Skywalker perhaps, but not his Master." Obi-wan gave her something of a warm light smile through their bond, and Asajj smiled back. It felt nice just to lose herself in the lightness of his force-signature, just as she'd once done with master Ky. His force-signature had possessed the same lightness, but not quite the warmth of Kenobi's.

Dooku scowled deeper, not pleased at the interruption. "Then perhaps he isn't worth the risk of keeping him around." A jolt of electricity shot from the Count's fingertips, and Kenobi let out a pained yell as he dropped backwards. Asajj gasped. "Perhaps it would be far better if I killed him now. Unless you have anything you'd like to tell us, Jedi." His voice wasn't gloating or angry as Grievous's had been. He wasn't torturing for pleasure, he was only in this for a kill.

"I don't know anything. It's been too long; we haven't planned out this far-augh!" Dooku shocked him again, while Ventress watched, horrified. Kenobi's eyes locked with hers, pleading. Did he think she could stand up to Dooku as easily as she had to grievous?

"That's a pity. Then I'm afraid you will be no help to us." Obi-wan screamed louder as another bolt hit him.

"Master, wait!" Asajj caught at his wrist and pulled him arm back. He immediately shook her off, but stopped torturing Obi-wan, who lay pathetically on the floor, whimpering with pain. He was as defenseless now as he'd been when Grievous attacked him.

"What do you want Ventress? I thought you'd like to be rid of this scum."

She bit her lip for a second, thinking. "I was, but I think he can be useful."

"Oh?" She knew exactly what Dooku was thinking, and it made her shiver.

"Just give me a little more time, please? I'll do something, I'll…" she glanced at her husband, who lay shaking. "I'll work something out. Just a few more months?"

Dooku sighed, and she knew she'd won. "I suppose he won't be too much trouble…"

"Of course not Master," she assured, "He's my responsibility."

"And your training?"

"I will keep it up as I have before."

"Very well. Take him out of here."

She scurried to his side, gently lifting his face. "Can you walk?" He shook his head weakly. She levitated him carefully, knowing full well Dooku was watching.

As soon as she was in the hall, she let Obi-wan collapse against herself, and slowly half carried, half dragged him back to their rooms, thankfully not meeting up with Grievous. She laid him down on her bed and sat next to him, gently stroking hair from his face.

"Obi-wan?" She couldn't keep fear and desperation from her voice. What if she had stopped Dooku too late?

"I'll live." He answered the unspoken question he had undoubtedly picked up from her, but his voice was rather pale and shaky.

"Kenobi!" Overflowing with relief, she bent over and kissed his lips softly, scooping his head into her arms as she did so. His eyes widened the slightest degree, but she didn't notice, or if she did didn't mention it. "Don't ever almost die again, alright?" she whispered, her hands still stroking his hair. Obi-wan nodded faintly. A few minutes of silence passed. "Sleep. It'll heal you." Her voice seemed almost normal when she spoke again. She had become addicted to running her fingers through his hair, almost as much to comfort herself as to comfort him. She'd just kissed Obi-wan. It was their first kiss. Her first kiss. And she'd blasted promised herself not to get close to him. Dooku had made her swear she wouldn't grow attached to him, no matter how _intimate_ they became, and she'd sworn to herself she'd never get anything close to intimate with him. Aw, Sith. She'd kissed him.

Obi-wan didn't know quite when he fell asleep, but he knew Asajj was still there when he did, and she was there when he woke up, gazing down at him.

"Better?" Suddenly the events of last night came flooding back to him. Most specifically her worry, and her kiss. His wife had somehow become fond of him.

"Kind of," he admitted, sitting up. His whole body _hurt._

"That's odd." Asajj was giving him a quizzical look. "Usually by morning something like that is healed. Every time it's happened to me, I…" She cut off, knowing she'd said too much.

"How could this happen to you?"

"Nevermind."

"I mean it, Asajj." He had struggled into a sitting position now.

"Well, Dooku must punish me for failures." She turned away, and Obi-wan dropped the subject, inwardly thinking that it was an awful way to train an apprentice.

"Were you here all night?"

"No, I slept after you drifted off. What I want to know is why you're not healed."

"Something to do with the Force?" he asked, gesturing to the arm with the cuff on it.

"That cuff," she spat, "has been more trouble lately." She snatched a small key from the drawer of her nightstand and slipped it into the lock on the cuff. It dropped off, and Obi-wan could instantly feel himself growing stronger. But Asajj had been unprepared for the full strength of his Force-signature. It crashed over her like a wave, drowning her in his presence. At once the bond between them tightened and strengthened, and she could feel more of him in her mind again. She could feel his mind as well, feel each of the thoughts he opened to her. It was as though he were all around her, as though each of her senses was picking him up at once. It was altogether terrifying.

Obi-wan was a bit frightened as well. Never in his life had he felt a bond so strong as this, and so deeply rooted.

"Obi-wan, Obi-wan. What is going on?" To Asajj, he realized, who had no Force bonds, this must seem immensely horrifying and confusing.

"Our bond deepened. If I'm correct, we should be able to think to eachother rather than speaking."

Asajj stared at him for half a second, the he felt her say into his mind, "_Think to eachother?"_

"I'm cutting this," she said out loud.

"It won't work; you won't be able to."

"Of course I can. Watch me." Obi-wan felt her begin to delicately feel at the threads that formed their bond, then she severed it partially. The pain that swept over her was unbelievable. It felt as though her entire universe was being taken from her, like she was losing everything that ever mattered. It was a spasm of intense loss, and worse still, it was directly linked to Obi-wan, as though she were losing him. And then, somehow in her agonized mind, something realized that Obi-wan, though it felt like he was being torn from her, was right there, lying near her. She flung herself against him, shaking, basking in his force-presence, and knowing somewhere deep down that she was acting like an idiot. But there was no stopping herself. "Don't leave, Obi-wan, don't leave me," she begged, burying her face in his robe front.

The Jedi too, was heaving great shuddering gasps, clinging to her as though she were all that mattered, and she could feel through their partially torn bond that he had the same thoughts: "Stay with me. Don't try to go away again. I need you." Slowly, the pain faded, almost as though simply touching eachother brought relief. Asajj jerked from him as soon as she could bear to, even more alarmed than before. _Don't leave me. _She'd sounded like an idiot. But she would cut that bond. She'd brace herself, now that she knew what was coming. Ventress took one deep breath, then sliced it through completely.

His world was ending. All that mattered had been ripped from him, and all he was conscious of was the fact that he _needed_ Asajj Ventress back. The throbbing heartbreak lessened the instant that she snatched for him and he grabbed for her. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, pressing her to himself as though she could heal him with simple touch. He rolled onto his back, pulling her with him so she lay on his chest; her face nuzzled into his neck, both clinging to eachother. The bond slowly built itself back between them as they touched, stronger than it had been before.

Asajj was aware of this, but at that second it didn't matter. Only _he_ did. And then slowly the longing faded, and she sighed. It hadn't worked, and she'd made a total fool of herself besides. She pulled back from Obi-wan, but couldn't get away. The Jedi still clung to her, his chest rising and falling under her, face creased with anguish.

"Kenobi, you can let go."

"But, but, I need you." His voice was a soft whimper in her ear.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't try to cut it again." He was serious now, gripping her tighter.

"I've learned that." She remarked dryly, and Obi-wan slowly slid his arms away from her. She shot off of him, feeling shivery all over. Now she'd not only kissed him, she'd been closer to him then she'd ever been to anyone. Ventress sighed. She was supposed to be a dark assassin, not a lovesick female.

"You and I are linked together. It's the will of the Force, I suppose." Somehow, it didn't seem right that the will of the Force tied him to Asajj. Surely they were completely against what the Force desired? Surely to be by her side he'd have to smash the code-and therefore the will of the Force- to bits?

"What if I cut it when we were far apart?" It was more of a hypothetical question now; she had no desire to try to cut herself off from him anymore. She'd have to rely on sheer will power to resist attachment to him. And it didn't help that he was so attractive.

"Pain. Loss. Greif, then possible darkness."

"I'm already dark."

"You will grow darker. Or you will kill yourself to escape the pain. Another Jedi I knew cut all his Force bonds- not near so strong as ours- as he was dying. One of his closest friends killed himself soon after."

"Then why did he cut them, if it caused so much pain?"

"He was about to die. To have them ripped apart by death is often too great for anyone to handle. If I died now, it could cause you to die as well, just because of the sheer…" Obi-wan struggled to find a word, then whispered, "loss." They lay there on top of Asajj's bed for a while, gazing at the ceiling, trying to comprehend exactly what this newly unbreakable bond meant. Asajj eventually came to the conclusion that it would make resisting Obi-wan's charm all the harder,

It was only a few nights later when the life support shut down- _again. _Asajj woke up shivering violently on the floor, desperately wishing that the metal wasn't so cold under her, and that she had more covers.

"V-Ventress?" Kenobi was shaking too. "Why is it so c-cold?

"Blasted life Supp-pport shut down again." Obi-wan noticed that she was quaking with the cold, and wondered briefly if Rattatakkis were better suited to hot then cold. After all, Rattatakk was a roasting planet, and they had no hair to keep them warm.

"Will you b-be alright?"

"I think so." Obi-wan didn't.

"Maybe you should come up here, off the floor."

"Sure, and f-face Dooku yelling at me because our Jedi f-froze to death."

"No, it'll be warmer up here for both of us. We can have all the covers and be off the floor." She shot him an electrifying stare, fear and apprehension in her gaze. "I'll keep to my half." He offered.

She got up, shivering, and still looking cautious as she crawled into the bed. Obi-wan had moved over, and it was warm where he'd laid. Oh, wonderful warmth. Obi-wan propped himself up on one shoulder to look at her, but suddenly she'd pressed her body to his. "Force, you're _warm." _Her voice was purred into his neck. He smiled slightly.

"Your pride for a bit of warmth?" Her forearms dug into his chest, but he didn't care right now.

"Shut up Kenobi." Asajj purred again. Her shivering was already growing less violent. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist, remembering briefly his promise to keep away from her. Then again, the night was too cold to be aloof.

**I warned you it was FLUFFY! reveiw if you liked any portion of above mush. and if you didn't like any, then review and tell me how disgustingly mushy this is. but I couldn't resist. Cuz I loooove mush! almost as much as I love reveiws. *hint hint***

**thanks everyone!**


	5. And as time passed

**I was going to add more to the end of this chapter, but I got stuck for lack of "connector" if you know what I mean, and the ending worked anyway, so _hey_, I went with it. **

**Oh, and if you don't like flashbacks, then you're out of luck. there's quite a few in this chappie, and the rest of the story will feature quite a few as well. _italics _means there's a flashback, as in a later scene Obi flashes back and forth between the present and past battles with his wife. there's also a nice long one, Asajjs POV, about when they first met :] Enjoy!**

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Chapter 5

The first thing Obi-wan realized when he awoke was that it was hot: blazing, unbearably hot. The second was that Asajj was still pressed against him, her arms against his chest, her face against his neck. The third thing was that Count Dooku was standing over them, expressionless. Obi-wan shifted slightly. "Ventress," he hissed softly. She stirred, lifting her head to look at him.

"Morning. Why is it so blasted hot in here?" Obi-wan nudged her slightly, and it was only then that she noticed her master. She immediately untangled herself from Kenobi, rolling over to face Dooku and sitting up. "Master! Why are you here?" Obi-wan could feel her embarrassment, and he was sharing in it. Force, _Dooku? _Weren't things complicated enough in their relationship? If he could even _call _it a relationship.

"You should have arrived for training half an hour ago."

"Sorry Master. I guess my alarm was plugged into the life support power grid." She stood up and rummaged in her trunk for clothes. "Which went out again last night." If Dooku picked up on her subtle hint that the life support should be fixed, he didn't acknowledge it. Asajj slipped into the fresher to change, leaving Obi-wan lying beneath the gaze of a stern wordless Count.

"Erm, I believe she wants you to fix the life support. Blasted cold last night."

"Hmm." Obi-wan decided not to say anything more. Dooku wasn't looking pleased with him, and he still bore a mark from where he'd been hit with Force-lightning.

Obi-wan and Asajj went back to taking turns with the bed after that, as Obi-wan had expected that they would. To be honest, he'd liked sharing with her. And so had she. But for the sake of both of their pride, neither asked again. In fact, it wasn't until several weeks later that Asajj finally broke this taboo.

It was late, late into the night when she returned. The only thing on her mind, after a long, hard day of fighting, fighting and losing, was sinking into her bed. And then she'd slipped into her bedroom and found Kenobi in her bed. She'd lost count of the days. And now she had only the floor to look forward to. But wait, Kenobi was sleeping on the far side of the bed, leaving the other half completely empty. Surely he'd never know or care if she slept here. He was sound asleep, and she'd hopefully be gone before he woke. Ventress slithered under the covers, still in her clothes, and she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

It was only then that Obi-wan opened his eyes, glanced at her still body, and smiled. She didn't mind being near him anymore. They'd almost forgotten the fact that they were married, but it hit him all over again now, seeing her curled near him. Asajj was gone before Obi-wan awoke, smoothing the covers so it looked like she'd never been there. But he knew.

When she left that day, she knew what she'd face. She would be punished for her failure of yesterday. Obi-wan hadn't been told about any of it, so he was terrified when Asajj came staggering back late that evening. She made it into her rooms, but when she did, she fell against him, not even caring when he swept her up and laid her down on the bed.

"What happened?" He gazed down at her as he asked the question, even though he knew exactly what had happened.

She sat up, not wanting him to think her weak, but couldn't manage it for long. She fell backwards, her head caught at the last second by the concerned Jedi she'd been forced to marry. "Dooku. Failed mission yesterday. It's not so bad."

"Not so bad?" he asked incredulously. She could barely sit!

"I'm not bleeding, am I? That's good." Obi-wan had suddenly felt the need to lift her into his arms again, not holding her so tightly as he had the day she'd tried to cut the bond, yet still more intimately than the night the life support had died. She melted to his touch, both against him, as she'd always wanted to, and on the inside, just a bit. It felt nice to have someone care for her. And of course, this was Kenobi who was pressing her against him and resting his head against hers. She'd only let him see her acting weak once before, and that was the day they'd first met.

_Asajj Ventress waited nervously in what was left of a second story of the abandoned temple. He should be here! Her master had told her that Anakin Skywalker was coming. All her training had prepared her for this moment-for killing Anakin Skywalker, who she'd never met. She paid closer attention as she heard voices from the Temple entry. But that wasn't right, was it? Her master had said Skywalker would be alone! But surely he wouldn't have sent her if he hadn't thought she could handle both of them. She turned her attention to the pair who had entered. _

_The first was a human boy, several years younger than her, maybe sixteen or so. His hair was dark brown, long, and wavy, and he wore dark Jedi robes. Following him was a man who appeared to be still young, but closer to her own age. This man, too, was human, but his hair was ginger, and his robes were beige. She cursed silently. All she knew about Skywalker was that he was a human male! Either this was Skywalker and his Master, or Skywalker and his Padawan. _

_She slowly dropped down in front of them, heart pounding. This was her first meeting with a Jedi since Dooku had begun teaching her. Both looked a bit taken aback by her sudden appearance, she noted._

_"And who do you think you are?" The boy had immediately ignited his lightsaber, the blue blade illuminating the area. _

_"She may not be looking for a fight you know. That's one thing you have yet to learn, my Padawan" The man laid one hand on the boys arm, confirming Asajj's suspicions that they were master and apprentice. _

_"Oh, but he's quite right." She drew her scarlet blades, turning the glow into one of violet. "I _am_ here for a fight."_

_"Well that, my darling, is a real shame." The man brought out a blade of his own, which, to her disappointment, was blue as well. She _still _had no idea which one was which. She kind of hoped that the hostile boy was Skywalker. She didn't want to have to kill the man, who, she noticed for the first time, had brilliant blue eyes. _

_As Ventress had expected he would, it was the boy who launched himself forward first. She took him on with ease. Now that she saw him closer, she realized that her guess on his age was pretty accurate. He fought well for someone with his level of training, but he was no match for her. She had the advantage of speed, height, and agility. She knocked him off his feet, his lightsaber skidding across the floor. She paused, unsure whether it was he she was out to kill. And he was only a child! It was then that the man intervened. He darted between her and his Padawan, lightsaber out._

_"Mind if I cut in, darling?" he asked in a voice that was almost… flirtatious. She shivered a bit as she began dueling with him. He was very good, and he had experience and strength on his side. He could almost match her in agility, and did match her in speed. She ended up backed against the wall, lightsabers lying on the floor. She shouldn't have given up so easily, but losing her first real duel struck terror into her heart. _

_The man had dropped his lightsaber and now caught her by the shoulders and pinned her to the cold wall. He must have seen the fear in her eyes, as he dropped the fierce expression he'd been wearing and replaced it with one of kindness. _

_"Now, my dear," The boy behind him had gotten up and was smirking at her, "Why don't you start by telling me your name."_

_She didn't like being humored, although she was still afraid of these two Jedi. "Asajj. Asajj Ventress." Her voice didn't tremble._

_"And why were you here to attack us, Asajj?" His voice was still gentle. _

_"I was sent here."_

_"By who, my sweet?"_

_"Darth Tyranius." She dropped her eyes from his gaze, fighting back tears. She'd revealed her master's secret too easily! She'd been able to resist torture, so why could this man- Skywalker? - get information from her like this? He was barely touching her, asking softly._

_"Thank you."_

_Suddenly, on an impulse, she looked back up at him and asked, "And who are you, dearest?" _

_Her question was rewarded by a smile. "I am Obi-wan Kenobi. Jedi Knight." So he _wasn't _Skywalker after all! _

_The boy suddenly lit his saber again, moving towards her throat, but was stopped by his master's sharp, "Anakin!" _

_"She will only attack us again if we allow her to live." Asajj shivered slightly, and it was a different sort of shiver then the kind she'd felt before when the man – Kenobi- had started fighting her. _

_"Anakin." He had turned away from her now, although his hands still touched her shoulders, and was speaking to the Padawan. "She is barely more than a child." She felt a slight burst of indignation._

_"I am twenty-two standard years, Kenobi. No child."_

_That same smile crossed his face, playing not only on his lips but in his eyes. "True, my dear. But you are still young to be a darksider."_

_"And how old are you then?" she shot back._

_"Twenty-five standard years. Barely." Somehow, she smiled back at him, and at that moment it occurred to him to release her shoulders. She stood there for a moment. _

_"Young to be training a Padawan." she murmured, noticing his handsome smile, then looked back at him incredulously. "You are not going to kill me?"_

_"No."_

_"You're too soft Master." The boy spoke again, and Obi-wan turned to him._

_"Head back to the ship, Anakin. I will join you in a moment."_

_Skywalker obeyed the command, and the man turned back to her. _

_"If you don't kill me…" …_my master will, _she thought briefly, but then finished, "I will be back for your Padawan. It is my mission to see him die."_

_"A pity. But suppose someday you and I are good friends. Think about it, my dear. I certainly will." And then he was gone. _

Asajj remembered his words. She'd been right at first. Obi-wan had been forced to continually defend his Padawan from her vicious attacks which grew fiercer as she trained; now Anakin was good enough to fend for himself. She and Obi-wan were now close to equals in a match. But he was right, too. Even now he cradled her in his arms, and she wondered if he was remembering that first match, too. There was silence for several minutes.

"Asajj?"

"Hmm?"

"Feeling alright?" Still worried about her, as he'd always been.

"Fine. Obi-wan, I need to tell you something." She'd probably regret telling him later, but now it was something she wanted him to know, something she should tell him herself.

"And what's that?" He'd let go of her now, but he continued gently stroking the side of her arm. His soft touches were nice, in a way. No one before had ever touched her just for the sole purpose of touching her. It was things like this about him that made her feel more then she was supposed to for him; she'd have to restrict her affections to "friendship". No. No! She was supposed to hate him! She was married to him because she was supposed to be turning him dark! A bit ironic, she noted, that he was allowed to treat her as a friend but not a lover, and she was allowed to treat him as a lover but not a friend. Obi-wan's touches held hints of both.

"Asajj? What did you want to tell me?"

"Oh. Remember when Dooku told you that you weren't just the first Jedi we found, and I told you he was lying?"

"Of course." He could see what she was going to say, but he still appreciated that she was telling him.

"I did choose you." He thought he saw a faint blush. "Selfish of me really, ruining your whole life like this."

"You had to pick someone. It's an honor to be your favorite Jedi." He gave her a slight smile, and she returned it for once. "But surely you knew I wasn't as dark as some others."

"I know." She paused for a second. "But Dooku doesn't. And how'd you know that was my mission, anyway?"

"Felt it."

She snorted. "Figures. But I chose based on who I thought would be kindest to me, and that would have to be you. I mean, you've been cooking, teaching me chess, Force, letting me _share the bed_ when it was freezing."

"You've been awfully nice yourself, my sweet. You saved me from Dooku _and _Grievous. And speaking of Dooku, you better sleep."

"If you insist, Doctor." she teased as she swung her feet to the ground.

"Stay here."

"It's your turn."

"It's a plenty big bed."

She blushed a bit. "But, somehow…"

"You did last night already." Seeing her eyes widen, he added, "Oh yes, I was awake when you got here."

"Sorry." Asajj ducked her head a bit.

"Doesn't matter. I'll keep on this half, and you can have the other one. Who says we have to do what Dooku asks, anyway?" Dooku hadn't exactly told her to _take turns_ with their bed, but she certainly wasn't going to tell Kenobi that, or think it to him either. Slowly, hesitantly, she pulled her feet back onto the bed and under the covers, switching the moonlit window to "cloud cover" as she did so.

_"Kenobi?" _Her voice was in his head again.

_"Yes, Asajj?"_

_"I'm… I'm rather glad I chose you." _It was something she could never have allowed herself to say out loud, but here, inside their bond, it felt like something she should tell him. She felt him smile.

_"I'm glad you chose me too."_

Obi-wan lost track of the days. Weeks passed. Dooku ceased bothering him about anything; he'd seemed to accept that Ventress's Jedi knew nothing. And Obi-wan certainly had no intention of turning dark. Dooku, however, seemed to think that giving Asajj more evenings with him would. She was released earlier now, and she wasn't as tired as she'd been in the past. Asajj knew why she had these evenings off, _as if. _The chess lessons continued, but with all the extra time, Asajj began to feel bored of losing at chess to Kenobi. Force, he knew every strategy, every move, every master plan she could come up with, and he wasn't feeling them from her either. He was just too blasted good.

"Checkmate."

She growled loudly, sliding her chair back. "How about we do something else? I'm blasted tired of chess."

"Alright then, what will you have us do?"

"Let's go out of these rooms for once."

"Outside?" Obi-wan perked up at the idea. He'd been locked in these same rooms for weeks, maybe months.

"Yeah. We'll go to the training room and have a little spat."

"I like that idea." The Jedi stood up, thinking. If they were going to fight, maybe he'd be able to get his hands on a lightsaber. He could get out of here! As much as he liked Asajj, he was dreadfully bored of his lonely days, and he missed his friends back at the Temple. But on the other hand, she'd face Dooku's wrath if he disappeared. He didn't want anything, _anything _to happen to her. This was beyond keeping his Jedi word. This was an intense desire to protect her.

"Alright, Kenobi. I'll allow you the first move." The pair stood in a large, empty room, lightsabers at the ready. _Training _lightsabers, much to Obi-wan's disappointment and relief. Disappointment because he couldn't escape, and relief that he didn't have to escape.

Obi-wan lunged forward, and she sprung to meet his blade with hers.

_"And here I thought this mission would be unpleasant." "The pleasure is all mine, my dear Obi-wan. I've missed you." Two red blades clashed with two blue ones._

"You've improved since the last time we fought." Obi-wan commented, trying to keep out the memories.

"Thank you, my dear." She knocked his lightsaber across the room, then pointed her training sabers at him, smiling slightly.

_"Well, now I'm impressed!" his lightsaber gone, all he could do was dodge slashes from her sabers. Her arms came flying down towards him, and almost without thinking, he caught her wrists._

Obi-wan darted forward and grabbed for her wrists, a move which always succeeded in catching her off guard. She looked startled at first, then hissed softly, "Let go." He shook his head, smiling. She wrenched away, darting forward again, and Obi-wan regained his lightsaber with the force, clashing blades with her fiercely.

"Excellent, Kenobi. It takes skill to match two blades." she jumped back for a second as she spoke, preparing to leap again.

_Ventress leaped back for half a second, pausing to unbuckle her hampering skirt and shed it, revealing the long lean legs he'd seen yesterday when she'd dropped her cloak so very seductively. _

Obi-wan snapped out of the memory just in time to avoid a blow with a training saber. He tried to catch her wrist again, but she darted back this time. "Nice try, Jedi. I remembered that move."

_"You remembered that, I suppose." "So I did. It won't work on me twice, my darling." "Then I'll have to find a few new moves to use on you, Sweetheart." "Oh?" "Perhaps a few with no lightsabers involved." "I like that idea, I'll admit." "So easily tempted, for a Jedi." "Why, have you tempted others before?" "Of course not, my dear. I am yours, and yours only." At that moment she sent him flying backwards with the Force, then sprung on him again, blades out. He blocked the blow. "I thought you said no lightsabers, my sweet." "I just did give you a saber-less move. Now we're dueling again."_

Obi-wan pushed away the memory. It was the most seductive she'd ever gotten with him, even now that they were married. "Then I suppose you'll see this coming?" He shoved her backwards, but she managed to counter it with a wave of Force of her own making. Then without warning, she sprang over his Force-push and slammed him to the wall, hands holding back his shoulders.

"Ha!" she panted out wearily but victoriously, "After all these years, I finally have you where you had me." Obviously he wasn't the only one lost in memories. "And how do _you_ like it, Kenobi?_"_

He smirked. "I like it."

"Oh?" There was something in his eyes, she wasn't sure what…

"I wouldn't mind losing a bit more often, actually."

They might have kissed. Or they might not have. Neither would ever know, for at that moment, Grievous strode in. Luckily, he took their position as Ventress attempting to interrogate Kenobi, rather than something more, which was what it was. "If you're going to interrogate the Jedi, at least do it somewhere where I'm not waiting to practice."

"We were practicing. I pinned him." She moved rapidly away from said Jedi.

"Well, get out."

She led him back out, muttering about pushy cyborgs as they headed back to their rooms. It was really a shame they couldn't fight more often…

"Chess?" she asked flatly.

"Chess." He confirmed.

**writers are notoriously observant, so I wouldn't be surprised if you've noticed not only that Obi and Asajj are growing more intamate, but Dooku seems to want them to be... I speak no more. a few reveiws could jog my memory... ;]**


	6. Something changed

**sorry this one took me so long, but I'm sure you'll agree it's worth the wait when you read the part with kissing! ;)**

**also, this site and I are not getting along so well right now, I continue getting an error message. If you're reading this chapter it means I overcame the evil error!**

**Also, thank you very much for all your great reviews! Dooku's motives are explained a bit better in this chappie.**

**~Still, after all this time, I don't own! huh.**

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Chapter 6

"I want to be perfectly clear, Ventress."

"Yes, Master. I understand."

"Kenobi is, at this point, nothing but a risk. If he gets away, he will know far, far too much. He may not, under any circumstances leave this fortress alive until we are assured he has joined us."

For lack of an answer, she nodded.

"He isn't dark, but even his loyalty can make a difference in whether or not he fights for the Separatists. His loyalty to you will make him unable to fight against us." Asajj wanted to point out that he already couldn't harm her, but still did plenty of damage to the Separatists. She decided against it.

"He isn't _loyal_ to me, exactly."

"He needs to be."

"Well, we're not like Master and Padawan. I'm loyal to you because you are my Master. He has no reason to be loyal to me instead of the side that raised him."

Dooku smiled the tiniest hint of a smile, an evil one. "Kenobi is like his Padawan in this respect; he knows there are more important loyalties then Master to Padawan. And that, my apprentice, is his downfall."

She left knowing her mission exactly. Sort of. Convince Kenobi to join her, or kill him. Or her other option, which she didn't even consider. The whole thing was awfully confusing. Dark Obi-wan. It seemed almost as impossible as a light Dooku, although she knew there had once been such a thing. That was how he'd known so much about the Jedi. But Obi-wan often contradicted what Dooku had told her. And she had thought of something else. _More important loyalties the Master-Padawan. _So why was she so loyal to Dooku then? Obi-wan was far kinder to her than anyone had ever been. Maybe everything she'd heard about the Jedi from Dooku wasn't so true after all.

She yawned as she headed back into the bedroom. It was too early for a conference. But where Dooku was, it was probably a lovely conference time. Asajj glanced at Kenobi, who had awakened and was looking exceedingly bored. It _was _too early for training anyway. Might as well have a bit of fun.

"Up for chess, my dear?"

The Jedi snapped out of his trance. Force, could he look handsome sometimes. His chestnut bangs fell into his face, one calloused hand pushed them away. "I'd like a bit of chess, but I thought you were tired of it."

"Well it's…" Obi-wan watched as she struggled for the right word. "It's not like a real fight. The attacker doesn't always capture the one they're after, they lose just as often. And there's no risk. I mean, if I lose…" _When I lose… "_I can just start all over again, with a full set of troops."

"Well, perhaps we can add a bit of a risk then." His blue eyes flashed dangerously.

"How so?" Her eyes returned the spark.

"Simple, darling. We make a bet." Obi-wan stood up, walked to the chess board, and powered it on. Pieces appeared in their perfect rows, awaiting a command.

Asajj considered for a moment. She'd lose the game and the bet, so it had to be something she didn't mind losing. Or reverse the situation so that she received the upper hand, but while letting Kenobi think he'd won. "Very well. Loser kisses the winner." She could at least take her 'victory' kiss. He'd blush no doubt.

Obi-wan raised one eyebrow. "Loser kisses the winner it is." The game begun. The tension in this game was so different. There was risk now. There would be a kiss at the end of this game, no matter what, but winning or losing meant a difference now. Asajj was still fairly sure she'd lose. And then all of a sudden she saw a move. Obi-wan had left weak spot in his defence of his king. Her rook darted in.

"Checkmate," she gasped, kiss forgotten. She'd won a game! And then she saw his face. He was smiling ever so slightly. It crashed over her like a rush of water. He'd let her win. He'd lost the bet. He'd won the kiss.

"You." she hissed. "You no-good cheater."

"Cheater? You won the game. I couldn't have been cheating if you won." An arrogant smirk was on his face, and, if she was totally honest with herself, it could only be described as, well, _sexy. _

"You- you- _let_ me win. You wanted to win the bet."

"Maybe I did. But you still won. And you know what that means." He'd stood up, sliding his chair away from the chessboard. She stood up as well, taking a few steps away. Kenobi crossed the space between them in a few strides. It would be foolish to try to run. She _had_ suggested this bet after all.

"Alright then Kenobi. Just remember that _I_ won the game." She stepped close to him and angled her face so her cheek was right near his face. His hand suddenly caught her jaw, turning her to face him.

"Oh, I don't think so, darling." There was a sudden light of fear in her eyes-he could feel it in their bond- but he kissed her anyway. The Jedi had intended it to be a very quick kiss; she was even more nervous about it then he was. But somehow he found her kissing him back, and then he leaned in deeper, and the kiss was spiraling out of control. They were kissing wildly, passionately. For Obi-wan, the dilemma was simple. He loved Asajj. He was not supposed to love her. For Ventress, it was far more confusing. She was supposed to kill this man, or love him, but not actually care for him, and she could not grow attached to him, yet she couldn't get so close without growing attached, and now they were kissing…

She ripped away and ran. There was nowhere to run to, so she locked herself in the 'fresher. Oh, she'd messed things up good this time. Giving her heart away to the Jedi she was supposed to care nothing for, and of course the simple fact she shared a bond with him… She could feel his confusion even now. He'd hate her for this, and she didn't blame him.

Ventress sighed, dropping her head, then suddenly spotted something small and shiny laying on the counter. A mirror. Obi-wan probably used it to keep his hair in good order. She picked it up, glancing down at her own reflection, something she hadn't seen in a long time; she'd long ago gotten rid of her own mirror. There was no need for it, she had no hair, and she didn't bother with makeup. And it hit her all over again why she'd thrown her mirror away. She wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination, pretty. Her skin was pale, ghostlike. The top of her head was bare, adorned only by the tattoos that told others of her kind how many fights she'd survived. And her eyes, her bright possessed eyes. Kenobi liked them, for some reason.

It was a long time before Asajj emerged from the fresher, and when she did, she slipped out of the rooms, leaving Kenobi and her heartache behind. He was asleep when she came back, or at least trying to be.

"Obi-wan?"

"Hmm?"

"Just wondering if you were asleep."

"I was."

"Sorry. Sorry, I thought… sorry." The female climbed into bed. He made no response. "Do you hate me?"

He shifted, rolling to face her. "Why would I hate you?"

"I ran away." There was silence. Somehow, she wanted- no, needed- him now. She wanted to make up, to him and to her own aching soul, what she'd missed out on before. "Obi-wan, you're on my side of the bed." She pushed him backwards, towards the wall.

Obi-wan glanced at her, confused. "No, I'm not."

She pushed him further backwards, then inched her own body closer. "Well, not anymore you're not." Her lips curved into a tiny smirk.

"Now you're on _my_ half." Which was quite true.

"Exactly." Obi-wan caught her meaning at once.

"Maybe I'll take you prisoner then." His arm hooked around her, preventing her from getting back away.

"You wouldn't." She delighted in this sudden closeness, although she certainly couldn't let him know that.

"I just did." He smiled too. She was flirting with him. His mind suddenly went back to a moment years ago, before he'd even met Asajj, when Qui-gon was alive, and he was just a pesky Padawan of fourteen.

"_Master. Guess what."_

"_What am I guessing now, my Padawan?"_

"_I figured out why darksiders hate Jedi."_

"_have you?"_

"_Well, we're pretty good looking, right?"_

"_Well, I wouldn't say…"_

"_I mean ALL the Jedi. They all look pretty nice, even the old ones."_

"_I suppose."_

"_They're jealous."_

"_Who are the Jedi jealous of?"_

"_No, Master." The young Obi-wan rolled his eyes. "the darksiders are jealous, not the Jedi."_

"_Well, who are they jealous of?"_

"_The Jedi!"_

"_Because we're good looking?"_

"_Yes."_

"_And they're not?"_

"_Come on, Master, have you ever seen a good-looking darksider?"_

He'd broken his own prediction, of sorts. Here was Asajj, curled next to him. And force was she gorgeous.

But her mind was elsewhere. "Ventress?"

"I might as well tell you what's on my mind, because you won't rest until I do." He smiled again. She knew him so well, and what she didn't know she picked up through their odd bond. That bond was the one thing he couldn't figure out. Why had the Force joined them? Could that one bond really make a difference in the galaxy?

"It's Dooku. He told me to either make you useful or make you dead."

"And what exactly is meant by 'useful'? We already settled that I don't know anything."

"He wanted you to turn dark. And he's still hoping you'll draw on your loyalty to me and fight for us. And he wants you to be… heartbroken."

"He wanted you to break my heart?" He shivered ever so slightly. She could do that easily.

Asajj knew that as well. But if she broke his heart, her own would break too. They were joined now, and one's hurt was the other's as well. "Yeah."

"And what else did he want?"

"Nothing."

"Asajj, I know you were just thinking of something else. Don't you trust me?" Those words cut deep.

"Dooku was hoping for another apprentice to train. A younger one, more force-sensitive, to replace me." Her voice trembled.

"So, he wanted _me_ as his newest apprentice? Instead of you? But you're younger than me."

"Not exactly. He wanted someone very young, that he could raise from birth. Someone with force-sensitive parents. That's why we had to be married. And why I had to choose a Jedi. A young male Jedi." Realization swept over him, as did a hot blush. Dooku wanted them to reproduce? And all this time, he'd been expecting Asajj to end up pregnant. No wonder she'd been so embarrassed.

"I see." He managed feebly after a time.

She was silent for a long time, and at first Obi-wan thought she fallen asleep. But she finally spoke. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Where to now?"

"Another station, another battlefield." She gave a rueful laugh. "They all become one and the same."

"Then why return to this station at all?"

"You're here. That's a fair enough reason for me."

Obi-wan smiled. "And how long will you be gone?"

"three nights, at the longest. Maybe two, if… If I manage to evade your Padawan."

Obi-wan's smile melted. "Anakin?"

"No, your _other_ Padawan. Of course Anakin." Obi-wan could feel her waves of sarcasm, and somehow, it only made him like her more. His grip on her tightened. Asajj stiffened, then forced herself to relax. After all, it had been she who'd inched closer to him.

"Be careful."

"Have you ever known me to be not careful?" Her breath felt nice on his neck, but he pushed her back from him a bit to look directly into her eyes. Somehow, looking into those eyes was like looking at a sun. It could be dangerous, and yet he wanted to look anyway.

"I mean it."

"Very well, Kenobi. I'll be careful." She laid her head down on her pillow- no, _his_ pillow- and closed her eyes. Several more minutes passed.

"I love you." he whispered. No response. She was asleep. Obi-wan rolled over to his back. He'd just have to tell her when she got back. Oh, Force, should he even tell her? It would only make things worse between them, and Dooku… he'd be thrilled.

Ventress held her breath, hoping he wouldn't even hear her breathe, until she remembered that while dead people don't breathe, sleeping people do. She gasped out quickly, then evened out her breaths. She must never let him know she'd overheard his whisper. Never.

**Next chapter will be the climax of Obi-wan's stay at the Seperatist base (yes, it does get more "climaxy" then the kiss!), and soon we will have new developments... hehehe. **

**you probably realized that in past chapters that Dooku has attempted to say a few things like "and you're not... (pregnant)" and "not going to impr-(impregnate my apprentice)" although Asajj has always cut him off. planned that way back when, but didn't reveal it to you guys until now because I'm very evil. :D**

**(slightly unrelated, but if you've seen Megamind let me know, because I'm trying to see if it's worth publishing my Megamind/SW crossover that involoves Obi/Asajj. It's the kind of crazy thing only I'd come up with :3 )**

**Oh, and expect the next chapter VERY soon. It's almost done!**


	7. Something sprang up

**Kenobi's time at the base has almost come to an end, but there's no way his interactions with Ventress are done!**

**~seal of non-ownership~**

* * *

Chapter 7

She slipped away from her lover early in the morning, before her usual time, as she knew he'd wake up at the same time as her to say goodbye. It hurt not being able to speak to him, but it would only be worse. She'd probably break the vow she'd made so many years ago, after her master died. She'd vowed never to cry again, ever. Of course, she'd also done a lot of other things she thought she'd never do. She'd considered leaving her master. She hadn't killed a Jedi when given the chance to do so; she'd defended the same Jedi from Grievous. She'd let that rotten Jedi so close to her, so close she could practically still feel his hands everywhere he'd ever touched her: her jaw, back, arms.

Her lips.

Force, she'd let her blasted _heart_ get in the way of everything. Although, she thought ruefully, she had broken the Jedi discipline she'd so dispised. He was no Jedi when he'd kissed her, he was just Obi-wan, which was all she wanted him to be.

But now it was time to focus. now that she was away from Kenobi, she could hopefully concentrate on surviving this fight. If she survived, then she'd worry about what to do about Obi-wan, and also the pesky feelings she held, and the insane rush she got when he gave her his most loving looks. Not to mention how giddy she got when he so much as brushed against her now that they'd kissed. No. No! Focus now, reinact kiss later.

Her ship hit the ground with a jolt, and she stepped out. Cristosis. Another duel sprang to mind, the times she'd taken on Kenobi and Skywalker together, and the day after, when she'd had Kenobi all to herself. But more importantly was a different day, years before, when she herself had almost broken.

"_Well, well. Certainly wasn't expecting to meet you here."_

"_You didn't think I'd let you take my lovely planet, would you?"_

"_No, that would be most unlike you, darling." The pair of them leaned forward, sabers ignited, and began their familiar dueling, eyes ignited with the same sparks in their lightsabers. Back and forth, slicing viciously, until somehow they ended up lightsaber-less , Ventress on the floor, her hands pinned to the floor. Kenobi leaned over her, a bit of hair hanging in his face in a way she was quite familiar with- but never at _this _distance. _

"_What a shame that we had to resort to such uncivilized manners of fighting." His eyes darted to his pesky hair and then back to her face. "Now, either come with me, or run back to Dooku, because the planet is mine."_

_She'd actually paused. She'd actually considered his offer. The republic would have no mercy on her, but neither would Dooku. And she had a vision of herself, with Kenobi, accepted by him, loved by him- What was she thinking? Even if he would accept her- even if she could ever leave and join the Jedi- he _was_ a Jedi! He couldn't love anyone, much less someone like her! She rolled out from under him and ran away._

Ha. And now Kenobi had whispered how wrong she was to her just last night. And it completely, utterly terrified her. Suddenly there was another sound, one that should have terrified her more. A lightsaber. Skywalker.

"You witch."

"Ah, the precious pet of the council." Normally he'd retort with something like, 'A pet with teeth, claws, and a lightsaber,' but not today.

"You're so dead. I have no mercy for someone like you."

"Good thing I won't need your mercy then." The battle that followed was the most intense she'd ever experienced. There was real rage driving his blows- blows that were completely destroying her defense. She tried various tactics, but his power and anger blew right through them, and suddenly he had her cornered.

"Nowhere to run now, Murderer." It clicked into place. Obi-wan was assumed dead at her hands.

"Your master's alive!" She screamed as his death blow soared towards her. He averted the strike at the last second, looking down at her, confused.

"You lie. He's been gone six standard months. No one can survive six months of torture."

"He's alive, I've kept him that way. Dooku and Grievous will kill him if I don't stop them."

"Liar." But he seemed less convinced of it now, and his lightsaber lowered.

"He lives. I haven't tortured him, I…" She broke off as she saw her chance. Darting under his saber and running before Anakin could stop her, Asajj made her getaway. All her fights seemed to end like this: running away.

Always in her life when a problem came, she ran. The revolts and violence of her planet. Her Jedi Master's death. Her parents' deaths. Her endless battles. Surely she could simply run from this Kenobi problem too? No. Her mind was too close to his. Her heart was completely his. She'd never run from him. She could only run to him now. And perhaps she shouldn't run from Dooku quite yet. Maybe she could get something from his trust before she was forced to run. After all, she thought with a grin, she usully saved running for a last resort.

The battle was an utter failure. Skywalker plowed down droids like nobody's business, and she didn't have the heart to kill clones except in self-defense, she settled for destroying their machines, vehicles, and blasters. All the stories Obi-wan had told her about the clones' unique personalities and their foolish jokes and traditions…

Ventress wasn't surprised when Dooku called her for a meeting afterwards. She'd failed; punishment was to be expected. But he didn't punish her.

"I can hardly blame you, when Grievous disappeared. There was no chance of you winning without him."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Grievous…disappeared?"

"He's gone, yes. Left to Kyleesh, cut off all communications. He also disabled his central chip, so we have no means of tracking or controlling him. I can only think he's deserted." The Count let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead with one hand.

Gone? The loyal cyborg?

"But I have other matters to discuss."

"About the battle, my master?"

"No. about what remains in your rooms." Oh Force, why'd he brought that up?

"What about him?" She knew what was coming, but dreaded it; so she stalled as long as possible.

"Kill him."

"But, surely I could…"

"You've had half a standard year. Time's up for the Jedi. He dies as soon as you return. If you have not killed him when I return tomorrow, I will kill him myself." He paused. "I know he's been something of a companion, and you've just lost Grievous, but the Seperatist cause comes first. It isn't good for you to be around such a strong light Jedi."

"Yes Master." Force no. Blasted man was so gentle, and yet so teasing, but still serious, and she'd gotten fond of him. _Fond. _Who was she kidding? She loved that Jedi.

A lump was settled in her throat all the flight home. Funny, she hadn't cried in twelve years. The occaisional involuntary tears of pain, but never real crying. And she stumbled into her rooms late that night, thinking of what she had to do, or Dooku would do. The rooms were dark, and she kept them that way, fumbling towards the bed.

Unexpectedly, arms caught her, holding her so tight she could barely breathe. "Oh Force, you came back." He was awake, crushing her ribs and breathing into her ear. And Dooku would call this a perfect time to kill him. Pull out her saber and stab him as he embraced her in welcome. She shoved tears back and steadied her voice.

"You're crushing my ribs, Kenobi." It wavered a bit towards the end, but the Jedi didn't notice. He'd pulled away and begun speaking.

"Almost four nights you were gone, tomorrow it'll be four nights. I was sick with worry about you. Not to sound fussy, but you just disappear…"

"Well I'm here now, huh?" She couldn't see his face at all in the total darkness; but the smile she felt.

"So you are." There was a few seconds silence, and Asajj was about to pull from his grip when she felt something soft brush her mouth. His.

Obi-wan kissed with a soft hesitance- after what'd happened last time, he wasn't sure she even wanted this. He could feel that she sort of wanted this, and yet… yet… But she accepted his kiss readily, returning the soft, slow brushes his lips gave hers. Every touch both hurt and healed her. Healed because feeling his lips ebbed away some of her pain, and hurt because she knew that she must kill him, and when she didn't, Dooku would.

She resisted the urge to rip from him as she'd done last time. This time she pulled gently away, pushing his body from hers. "I'm tired," she whispered.

"Perfectly understandable." Like the gentleman he was, he let her lean against him until her feet hit the edge of the bed, and then she'd clambered in, longing for sleep to take her problems away. And it didn't come to either of them. Obi-wan could feel her churning mind, but it wasn't opened to him, and it kept him awake. As tired as she was, she didn't sleep either.

All she could think of was that this was her last night sleeping next to him, and the kiss he'd given her was their last kiss. Thunder rumbled from the false window above them. She loved him, but she didn't know how to put it in words, even to herself. A flash of lightning illuminated Kenobi's face, eyes open, gazing at the 'storm'. Slowly all the building emotions released themselves, and she started to cry. She didn't sob, just let the tears gently slide down her cheeks to the pillow. Her vow was gone, but she couldn't help the tears. _He_ didn't know that she lay here, knowing of what was coming and not telling him. Another thunder grumble. Obi-wan rolled onto his side, face towards hers.

The pillow was wet. "Asajj, you're not…?"

Sniffle. "No. I'm fine."

"This isn't about losing the battle, is it?" Surely she wouldn't cry from pain, she wasn't like that. Deep down, he knew there was _something_ wrong in the whole situation, and he should know what it was, but at that moment he couldn't think of it. A burst of light from behind him reflected off the drops trailing down her delicate face.

"It's you." She didn't know how to explain it any better than that, that and leaning closer to him.

"Me?" Oh, force, what had he done to her? He'd made her cry somehow. She didn't want his kiss, and now she was crying. _She doesn't want me._

She pushed herself up slightly. "Dooku ordered me to kill you. Now. No excuses."

"And you don't want to?"

"Force, of course not. I…" She lost her words. She expected a reaction of anger from him, or at least disappointment. He'd have wanted to be told, not have it kept secret, even if it was because she didn't want to hurt him. She thought he might throw her from him, from where she was wiping her tears on his robe shoulder. Perhaps a reaction of fear and panic at the thought of death, but she certainly didn't expect a smile.

"Why, Ventress!" He paused, waiting for an answer that she didn't give, then plowed on. "You actually like me?" He was so utterly relieved that she wasn't crying because she didn't want his kiss, he barely even noticed the part about being killed.

Her tears had stopped. "Yes, Kenobi, I actually like you. I actu.." She stopped mid-word, listening. The door to her rooms had opened. She slapped the window off as it started to thunder again, and Obi-wan heard them too- footsteps.

"He's early. He's here to kill you!" She didn't have to say who 'he' was. She thrust her sabers into his hands. "Cut a hole in that wall, it's the fastest way to the hanger. I'll lock the door and hold him off." She sprang to the bedroom door while Obi-wan sliced a round hole in the wall. Asajj came back to his side as he finished the cutting, and by the red glow her weopons cast, he could see that she was terrified.

"Dooku'll kill you if I get away."

"Not if I tell him you had the sabers. There was nothing I could do. Now get out of here." Dooku was knocking on the door.

"No."

"What do you mean 'no', get out now!" she hissed.

"Admit it first."

"Admit what?" Dooku was pounding now, and pulling the door handle.

"That you actually care about me."

"Kenobi, we don't have time for…"

"Just say it!"

Ventress sighed, and then whispered, "I care about you. I care about you more than I've cared about anyone else. I care so much it hurts. Happy?"

"Not quite happy, but it'll do. And I love you too, my dear."

"I never said that!" she snapped defensively. Automatic reaction. She'd meant it even if she hadn't said it. Dooku was cutting through the door by now.

"That's what love is, caring so much it hurts." She loved him for saying that, but they had no time for sentimentalism.

"Go!"

Kenobi leaned in for one last quick kiss, a kiss Ventress gladly gave him before he slipped out the hole in the wall. "Second right, last left, first right!" She called after him quietly, then pulled the circle of metal back up and set it back in the hole. The cooling melted metal held it there, and she figured it'd hold up well enough for now.

"Ventress! What is the meaning of this?" Dooku had made it in, and was staring at her by the light of his saber.

"Master, give me your lightsaber!"

"Where is Kenobi?"

"Cut out a door, I couldn't stop him, he had both sabers," she panted.

Dooku re-cut the hole in the wall, but by that time Kenobi was far from sight. The Sith whirled and hit her hard with a burst of lightning. "I told you to kill him right away!"

"I'm sorry," she half-whispered as she struggled to her feet, hating her 'master' for this. But her love had escaped, and that was what mattered right now.

She sat alone in her bed, thinking of what had happened. As glad as Asajj was that Obi-wan had escaped death, she couldn't help wishing he was sitting next to her. She wished she'd admitted to him earlier how she felt. Force, the very first day, when he'd asked why she'd chosen him, she could have told him she liked him. Her eyes closed as she sank into this idea, but opened again as they noticed something glowing in the darkness. A datapad? Sure enough, one corner of a datapad stuck out from under the bed. She picked it up to read the words written there:

_Ventress,  
__ I'm going home.  
~__Grievous._

He'd gone home. To Kyleesh. Maybe he had wives or children there, maybe he didn't. But either way, he was home. Maybe it was time she found somewhere to call home too.

He waited with great impatience, something most unlike him. He knew he'd see her, and his curiosity burned. Would she still want anything to do with him? Did they have to go back to fighting? The Jedi sat up straighter, sensing the assassin's presence.

"I didn't know you'd be here." She stepped from shadows where no one could have seen her.

"Then it's a pleasant surprise." They stood, facing eachother, unsure of just what to do.

"We must fight. We can't let anything stop us from doing what we have to do." Her voice was bitter and filled with regret.

"You don't really want to do that, do you?" His voice came out as a whisper.

"No." Suddenly she ran towards him, but not with her saber. They hit eachother and stood, clinging, all thoughts of pretending not to care gone from the woman's head. "I love you, I love you, I love you." she choked out. Kenobi sent her the same thought through the bond, and it was the most delicious thing she'd felt in days. Grievous had gone home. She wasn't quite home yet, but this was the closest she'd ever felt, and there was no way she'd ever give it up.

**So erm, BIG developments in this chapter AND the next. I think it's impossible to surprise you guys with _anything_, but I'll do my best, K?**

**I'd appreciate a reveiw, it tells me how many people are reading. **


	8. But even lovers

**At first so very dull, something of an interlude, then BAM! I hit you guys with an awesome plot development! hahahaha!**

**~The only thing I own in this chapter: hmm... I guess the plot... Maybe Terralon.**

* * *

"You're not dead."

"I hadn't realized." Ah, sarcasm Asajj herself would appreciate. It was wearing off on him.

"So the witch wasn't lying?" Obi-wan fought back an urge to smack his Padawan upside the head. Wow, and it'd only been _four_ seconds.

"If by witch you mean Ventress, and if she told you I was alive, then yes."

"Obi-wan?" Plo.

"No way, you're alive?" Aayla.

"Kenobi!" Kit.

"You're back!" Luminara.

"So you survived the seperatists, eh?" Shaak.

"Obi!" Ki-Adi.

"Good to see you again." Mace.

Force, he hadn't realized how much he'd missed all of them. As the Jedi crowded around the newly returned general, Obi-wan, too, felt like he was home. But there was one thing missing. Her.

He'd soon told the Jedi all about his adventures- almost. He barely brushed on the topic of Asajj at all, only mentioning the time she'd saved him from Grievous.

The Temple accepted his explanation, and his life sort of went back to normal- as normal as life could get when you're a Jedi and a general in a galaxy wide war, and as normal as life could get when you live in the Jedi Temple. Except for one tiny detail that was totally different. He did a bit more than flirt with Asajj when they were supposed to be fighting. She gave him as much Separatist information as possible, and then the rest of the time was theirs. Obi-wan would later enter the information into one of the data systems in the Temple library, and no-one was any the wiser about where the information came from, or who had put it into the system. Asajj had warned him that somewhere in the Republic was a traitor. She didn't know who, but she knew it would be dangerous to let that traitor know that she was working for the Jedi.

The pair continued to meet frequently, each delighting in the secret times they shared only with eachother; they snuck away for longer and longer spells each time. At first it seemed to Obi-wan that maybe they could go on like this forever. Well over a year had passed, and Asajj was not caught or suspected. The council wondered where the hoth all the correct information came from, but really everything seemed to be working out, including their new relationship. They'd begun to take full advantage of their marital status.

"Mmm, I like hotel beds." Asajj flopped forwards onto the bed, feeling the smooth covers against her cheek.

"Hotel beds? You mean the same bed that dozens of other life forms have slept in before you?" Kenobi folded his arms across his chest, eyebrow arching.

"It's not the bed exactly." She crept completely onto the mattress, sprawling herself out, gazing up at her lover.

"Hmm?" It seemed sometimes that she and Obi-wan were able to communicate solely through 'hmm' and 'mmm' -plus the bond made silent communication a whole lot easier.

"Well, when I'm staying in a hotel, you're usually here."

"Ah, so you have ulterior motives?" The Jedi allowed her to pull him down to sit near her. She was so demanding sometimes, but he honestly didn't mind.

"Perhaps I do, my dear," she whispered as she dragged him down lower for a kiss.

She hadn't cried at all since that one night, which he much preferred. She wasn't herself when she acted like that, and he very much liked her better as herself.

"Mmm." That word again, but a little different now. Kenobi pulled gently from her lips, sitting up. "You're still such a darksider Asajj."

"Only when it comes to you." She sat up as well, fiddling with her wrist communicator. This was how most of their time passed; conversation would suddenly become flirting, and that rarely ended without a kiss.

* * *

Obi-wan slept in his Republic base bed, dreaming of lightsabers that kept turning orange, though he couldn't explain why. It was such a very odd dream, and then his lightsaber, which was orange, began making a noise like 'ping'. Over and over, the same ping noise, until something realized it wasn't part of the dream, it was a real sound, and he was dragged back to consciousness. A small stone 'pinged' against his window. Odd, who would be throwing stones at…? Asajj! His heart gave a pleasant jolt as he sensed her familiar presence. How she'd found him didn't matter right now, as he opened the window to see the very woman he'd just thought of standing below, a handful of small pebbles clutched in one fist. The window was open in a heartbeat.

"Good, I thought I'd have to come in there and wake you. Are you always this hard to get up?" The note of dry humor was her version of an affectionate greeting.

"I'm up, I'm up. Why are you here?"

"You're up all right, now come down." He smiled at her choice of words, but opened the window wider and leapt out anyway, landing on his feet and catching himself with his hands. Before he was even all the way standing she'd grabbed him around his shoulders and embraced him.

"What on Mustafar are you doing here, darling?" He wasn't able to relinquish her touch, and kept his hands on her forearms; she mirrored the gesture.

Suddenly her face was all seriousness. "I need you to take me to Corausant."

Obi-wan blinked, taken aback. "You mean the planet crawling with police, politicians, and Jedi?"

"No, the _other_ Corausant."

The Jedi ignored the sarcastic comment. "I thought you hated Corausant."

"I do hate Corausant." She sighed. "But I'm going there anyway."

"Why would you go to that metal-covered rock?" Something was wrong. He gently probed her bond, but to his shock, she blocked him out. "Asajj…"

She suddenly changed the subject. "I've missed you."

"That's not a reason to come live on Corausant."

"And you haven't missed me?" She gave him such a pathetic mock sadness look he couldn't resist pulling her in for a kiss.

Once again he found himself relinquishing her lip. "Force, haven't done that in a good three months." He whispered, wishing that number weren't so high. Three months! That was almost a hundred standard planetary revolutions without so much as seeing her!

"Mmm hmm." She sounded a bit uneasy, and Obi-wan again tried reaching through the bond. Shut out once more.

His hands dropped from her arms. "I don't like it when you keep secrets."

"Obi-wan, I…"

"Well?"

"Obi-wan, I'm three months pregnant." And then she fell against him, and the flood of the bond was opened again, and he realized how she felt. Overwhelmed, and with no one to go to.

"Asajj, I, that's wonderful, but it's so…" Her emotions provided the word he was looking for. "Dangerous. If anyone else knew…"

"I know," she practically whimpered into his shoulder, "that's why I had to come here. I can't stay with Dooku anymore, and I don't have anyone else…"

"But I can't just march you into the Temple, they'll kill you no doubt!" The notion was still whizzing around his brain. A baby.

"Yes, you can, if you tell them you've captured me. You've been trying to take me prisoner for years."

"They'll kill you. I can't take you there." _And I can't let _anything _happen to you, my love._

"I figured it out already. They won't kill me."

"And _why _would a group of people very eager to see you die suddenly have mercy?"

"I'd appreciate you to be a little more sensitive to all this."

"Sorry." This had to be much harder on her then it was on him, but the whole newness of the idea kept slapping him upside the face. "It's just that you don't know some of the Council members. They really hate you."

"They can't kill me. Killing me would kill our daughter, an innocent." Oh. But of course. It was a good plan, he had to admit. Still, it was so risky.

"Daughter? And how are you so sure of the gender?"

Ventress let out a little laugh. "I don't know, it just sort of _feels _like a daughter. I'm thinking of naming her Terralon, after my mother." Her hand gently caught his, pulling it so it rested against her cloth-covered stomach. And sure enough, he could just feel a certain curve that hadn't been there before. He thought that she should've been bigger by now- an old friend in the senate who'd given birth a few years ago had already been noticeably pregnant by this point. But then again, he didn't know much about Rattatakkis. Perhaps he should have paid better attention in 'Humanoids of the Galaxy' years ago. At that age, he hadn't really wanted to know all the details about how various species reproduced.

"And where will little Terralon stay?"

"Hopefully in the Temple, training as a Padawan." Obi-wan's eyebrow arched.

"You actually want your _daughter_ to be a Jedi?"

"Yeah. I do." She paused, then plowed on. "Dooku might be angry if he found out. We'll have to make sure the council keeps it hushed, especially with a traitor around."

"But he _wanted _you to have children, remember?"

"That was back then, when you were a hostage. I'm not sure it'd be so good to announce, 'Oh, and by the way, I'm pregnant, and the father is the Jedi we've been hunting down.' Wouldn't fly with him." Somehow the pair managed a smile at the thought of Dooku's reaction to a statement like _that. _

"And even if he was okay with it, Terralon would be his to train." Obi-wan realized.

"I don't want my daughter to have my old life. So, you'll take me back to Corausant tomorrow?"

"I suppose. I don't like it, mind you. How'll you escape after she's born?"

"We'll have to work something out, now won't we? But for now, maybe I could get a little sleep?" Oh, he'd missed her eyes. They sparkled at him now, reflecting the light from the three moons.

"The bed's all yours, darling." The pair slipped back through the window, which Obi-wan closed, and Asajj was soon asleep, curled up in his bed. Obi-wan didn't sleep anymore that night, he stayed up and thought. She still looked completely normal, if you didn't look _very_ closely at her stomach. Of course, it would be more noticeable to him, as he knew all her curves so well. Force, what had they gotten themselves into? And the better question- would they make it out?

**I know some of you out there are reading without reveiwing, I get an email when ever anyone adds this to story alert. could you maybe review just once? I like knowing how many people are enjoying this. (Or hating every minute. Either way.) So please make me all happy inside and write just a little blurb. Just, "I love this story, update soon." or "This is awful! Worst story evaaaah!" not too hard now, is it?  
:D**


	9. Especially lovers

***Peeks out head* you're not going to attack me for making Asajj get pregnant? *walks out* good. Hey! you in the back! Put those rotten tomatoes down right now! **

** What? Can it be true? Another chapter so very soon? It _is_ true! This chapter was very fun to write- the council is a very _interesting _group of people. And a few of you were quite right- Yoda and Anakin will soon know, although Yoda knows because hes very wise and Anakin knows because... well... because he's Anakin. And he's not happy about knowing either :P**

**I won't bug you about reveiws this chapter, as I already lectured you last time :3**

* * *

Asajj was very quiet on the flight to Corausant. She was very sharply aware of the way the clones kept staring at her, and it made her feel as though she were being condemned. There was no way they could know what she'd done, and really, she'd done nothing wrong; Obi-wan had insisted that was true. But that nagging feeling was there. She could only barely feel Kenobi's presence with all the force-suppressing drugs they'd shot into her system, and she acutely mindful of the handcuffs pressing into her back. And her insides were in complete turmoil, the same achy stress feeling she'd had the past several mornings. A rattitakki's version of morning sickness, she supposed.

"Floor, scum," snapped one of the clones, as one of his brothers stood above her, obviously wanting to sit where she currently was. No matter, she'd be closer to the Jedi if she sat on the floor. Or stood.

"Sit down." Obi-wan ordered, barely looking at her. She knew he didn't mean it, but it stung still, hearing words like that from him.

It seemed like eternity before the ship landed inside the Temple walls. Kenobi took her arms to lead her to the council, and that was as close as they could get. That stung too. She was near him so infrequently, she liked to take advantage of whatever times they did have. But the worst sting was meeting Anakin Skywalker in the hallway.

"Ah, so you really do have the witch."

"Now, Anakin…"

"Don't try to persuade me to be nice to this waste of space, master. I hate her. Force, I hate her." _Like I'm not even here. _This wasn't going to be pleasant for Obi-wan, having a wife and friend who hated each other's guts. She'd try to get along for his sake, but she had her limits.

"Anakin, would you please stop with the insults and come with me? We're holding a council meeting."

"I know, I was waiting for you."

"Yes." Once again with the sarcasm; he really needed to control that!

Asajj stood, alone, in the circular room. Not quite alone, as all the Council members sat in their circular chairs around her in, yes, a circle. Did circles _mean _something to Jedi? Or had it just been, 'Ah, what the hoth, let's do _circles_ today!' She dragged her thoughts back.

Adi Gallia, Mace Windu, Yoda, Saesee Tiin, Shaak Tii, Ki-Adi Mundi, Plo Koon, Anakin Skywalker, and three other Jedi she didn't recognize. And her lover. They held the power of her life. Some of them looked kindly towards her, the rest had gazes filled with hate. Adi, Shaak, Plo, and Yoda all appeared to be on her side, as well as Obi-wan, of course. Mace's face was hard to judge. She'd heard people describe Mace as 'fair', and she hoped he'd live up to that.

"Now, Ventress. You were captured?" It took her half a second to realize he was asking her a question.

"Yes, master." The Jedi glanced around at eachother at her answer. Obviously they hadn't expected such a calm answer.

Mace, too, looked taken aback. _I've got more surprises where that came from. _"And, do you know why you are here?"

"No."

Shaak's hand shot up. "Frankly, Mace, I don't know why we're here either."

"Kill her and move on, if you ask me." Snorted one of the unknown Jedi in a deep snuffling growl.

"No. She holds valuable information." Plo jumped to her defense.

"Information she's not going to share with us." Anakin retorted. Obi-wan shot his Padawan a meaningful glance, but the look went unnoticed.

"Perhaps we simply should have her killed." Saesee Tiin put in.

"Perhaps," said Mace, and Asajj panicked. They couldn't condemn her yet!

"Ahem." Obi-wan's polite cough quieted all the whispers. "It seems to me that she surrendered to me too easily. She's always had a back-up plan before, and it seems odd that she came so quietly."

"I don't know just what to make of that." Adi massaged one temple in thought.

"Would you like to contribute to this discussion?" Master Windu was gazing straight at her.

"No comment, masters." Surely they'd think a little higher of her if she was polite?

"It's not like you to be so quiet, Master Yoda. What's your opinion in all this?" Shaak gazed at the short master curiously.

"Hmm." A long, expectant pause. "If true, it is, that came willingly, she did, grave plans, Dooku could have in mind. And our traitor." He referred to the message that continually popped up on the message screens- "There is a traitor in our midst." No one knew if it was true or not, but the screens had lately been acquiring lots of strange data. Obi-wan, of course, understood perfectly.

"Then we'll keep her around, but under high security. It could be that Dooku has betrayed her, and she has come to us for security." Mace sat back in his chair.

"She'd be too proud to come to us." Anakin stated.

"Which is why she surrendered only after a fight." Obi-wan pointed out. "It makes sense."

"I'll get her a cell then." Mace rose, took the prisoner's arm, gently but firmly, and marched her from the room. Obi-wan and one of the other Jedi followed.

"Master Windu, she could have explosives, or something. We can't just keep her…"

"I understand your concern, but we've already decided." The other man walked off, disgruntled.

"Master?"

"Yes, Kenobi?"

"Do you think it's possible she's been purposely infected with a plague?"

"A plague, Obi-wan? Why on Mustafar would she have a plague?"

"Dooku would be quite thrilled to infect his assassin, send her among us, then sit back and relax as we all drop dead." Mace's eyebrows raised.

"An interesting theory, and something I wouldn't put past the sith. It's highly unlikely, but we'll scan her, just to be sure." They suddenly veered down a hallway, where they met up with Skywalker. He joined their little party, and Obi-wan filled him in about his "theory".

Asajj found herself standing inside a doorway-like contraption, which scanned her whole body and displayed the facts on a screen in front of the three Jedi.

"Alright, 'Five foot ten, female.-' I _knew _that already." Mace skimmed the list. "'Abnormal amount of scar tissue'." He glanced up at Asajj, who stood nonchalantly. Obi-wan knew this to be true. The unexposed areas of her back were a mess of scars, not to mention the ones on her arms and legs, and a few in other places.

"'Certain inorganic elements present'- that'd be the handcuffs and clothes. 'Approximately thirty-two years of age.' 'Force-suppressant drugs detected…' Ah! 'Not infected with any diseases'. She's all set to…" Suddenly his voice trailed, and Obi-wan knew what he'd spotted.

"The scanner's gotta be wrong."

"What is it?" Kenobi attempted to peer over Mace's shoulder in mock curiousity, but gave up- Blast was being short annoying!

"That can't be." Mace pointed one deep brown finger towards a single glowing word on the screen.

"Try refreshing it." Obi-wan suggested.

"What are we looking at here?" Anakin choose this moment to pop into the discussion. Then the screen lit up again, and he freaked out. "No way. Maybe we should get this thing checked."

"How can… I suppose she is in the right age…"

"This is Ventress we're talking about." Anakin put it. "There's no way."

"What are we all looking at?" Asajj stepped lightly down from the platform, hands still chained behind her back. Mace and Anakin both stared up at her. Finally Obi-wan gestured her to the panel, and she stared down at the word.

"Please tell me the machine is wrong." Anakin sounded more hopeful than anything else. The female didn't speak.

"Oh Force. Call the Council. They'll need to hear _this _little gem," Mace flicked the scanner off, and then glanced at the other two humans. "I'll call the others if you'll bring her back to the council room."

"There is no way I'm touch-"

"I'll do it." Obi-wan sighed, taking the pale arm and heading back to the circular room. He wanted to say a few encouraging things to her before she had to face the accusing Jedi again, but Anakin followed him.

"I'm still not convinced. This whole thing is probably just a trap. Our so-called traitor rigged the scanner, and the witch is just acting. And then we'll all feel sorry for her, and let her stay here, and-"

"Or maybe she's here to escape."

"What?"

"Dooku wouldn't be pleased to find that his apprentice is going to have a child. So she's taken refuge here." He'd lowered his voice slightly, even though Asajj was right in front of them. "I imagine she must feel abandoned, if the only place she can come is _here." _

"What about whoever the father is? Why can't she leave us alone and pester that loser?"

_Cutting deep. _"Maybe she can't. Maybe he left her." _Or maybe he's trying, but absolutely failing, to keep her safe within the Temple._

It seemed to take forever to get all the Jedi back in their circular seats and sitting in a circle in the circular room. Asajj felt more anxious than before, which she'd thought was impossible, but now learned was totally possible.

"Well, why's _she_ back?" snapped one of the Jedi Asajj didn't know.

Mace sighed, then said, "Obi-wan, you may sit. I don't think she's going anywhere." Thus her one security left her side and sat in his own chair, leaving her alone again.

"Well, we gave her a health scan to make sure she didn't have any contagious diseases."

"And she's infected with some horrible deadly plague?" Shaak actually looked concerned.

"Worse. Much worse. Unless the scanner is wrong-"

"And I still think it is." Anakin put in,

"Ahem. Unless the scanner is wrong, Asajj Ventress is expecting."

The whole council room stared, and then whispers broke out. Asajj forced down a blush, remembering something Obi-wan had told her yesterday. _You have done nothing wrong. _Only she thought that for once, he was mistaken. She had done wrong. She'd ruined a wonderful Jedi.

"She hasn't answered me one way or the other about it, which leads me to believe that it's true."

"I say there's no way. Ever." Anakin emphasized 'ever'.

"And why not?" Adi looked over in Anakin's direction, and several others followed suit. Asajj was quite glad of this, as it meant they stopped staring at her. She was beginning to feel like a zoo exhibit.

"Who would, well, want her?" Obi-wan frowned a bit, but it was almost inperceiveable. Who would want her? A harsh comment, and she was standing right here! His blood positively boiled.

"We don't know. But she's a woman of about the right age, so I guess it's quite possible." Shaak sat back in her chair, gazing at Asajj again.

Plo had to get his ideas in too. "I think Dooku would have wanted her to have a child. A young, force-sensitive apprentice would do him good."

"Ugh, you did _not _just suggest that _Dooku _got her pregnant," said Shaak, making a face that looked like she might toss her cookies.

"No, just told her to find someone." Another Jedi put in. _He sort of did, a long time ago, _Asajj thought, remembering her marriage to Kenobi. Now she wished she'd been a bit nicer to him on their wedding day. Maybe given him an actual kiss.

"Or he used whatchamacallit," suggested Plo. The other Jedi all stared at him.

"Mind telling us what the hoth you mean by 'whatchamacallit'?" Mace asked calmly. Obi-wan was impressed by his demeanor; he would have been shouting for order by now.

Plo looked a bit disappointed that no one knew what he meant. "You know, when they put male cells in a woman with needles?"

"Maybe we should stop speculating and decide what to do." Obi-wan suggested softly.

Adi smiled at him. "You know, that's the wisest thing I've heard anyone say all day."

"She'll have to stay with a Jedi, most likely, I wouldn't want to risk injuring her, and killing her is out of the question now." Ki-Adi rolled his eyes, but no one really cared. "Shaak, do you think you'd…"

"Absolutely not."

Mace turned on the female sitting next to him. "Adi…Perhaps you'll consider…"

"Nice try."

Mace was silent for a minute, considering, then said, "We'll make Aayla do it." A chorus of agreement rose from the others. Poor Aayla wasn't there to defend herself, so Aayla it was.

"Who'll take her down to Aayla and explain what's going on?" If Mace was expecting half a dozen eager volunteers, he was sadly mistaken. Finally Obi-wan sighed.

"I'll do it, if no one else will."

"Good, thank you Kenobi. Now remember. This must stay _only _among the Jedi. Do not tell anyone who is not a knight or higher rank, because, frankly, Padawans are not very good with watching their mouths. Everyone you tell must be warned also not to tell anyone other than Jedi. Remember that there's a traitor somewhere."

With that, the council was dismissed. Obi-wan took Asajj down towards Aayla's room, and as soon as they were alone, he took the opportunity to speak. "I'm so sorry about all that. You'll like Aayla at least."

"I'm sure I'll manage."

"I'll come see you as much as I can without making Aayla suspicious."

"Good. If I'm going to stay in the Temple, I'd at least better be able to see my Jedi sweetheart."

"Know, I do." Master Yoda called after them, using his cane to move himself slowly down the hall.

"Master?" Obi-wan turned politely to face him, although Asajj stayed still.

"Know your secret, I do. Both of you."

"I'm sorry, Master, I don't know…" Kenobi stared down at him, pale. He couldn't _know_, could he?

"Understand, you do, what I mean. Together, you are. Expecting a child, you are."

"Master, I…" Obi-wan didn't know what on earth to say to this wise Jedi, but Asajj saved him.

"It was my fault, master. I was the one who…"

"Quiet, you should be. Tell no one, I will. Interesting, this will be, to see how it ends." Yoda kept walking, slowly rounding the corner and disappearing.

"Is it really that obvious?" Asajj whispered, but before her lover could answer, they were once again joined by Anakin.

"Master, what do you think?" He didn't have to say that he was discussing the now common knowledge of Asajj's condition, and theories on how it came to be.

"I think it would be impolite to discuss." They'd reached Aayla's rooms by now, so Obi-wan had to explain the whole situation to the twi'lik before helping her drag in another bed and set up the new lock on the door. Asajj was left there with the knight as Obi-wan left, although he took Anakin with him, _thank goodness._

"Anakin, we need to have a talk."

"Oh boy. What now?"

"I'm sure you know who else is expecting."

"Er, no clue. Who?"

"Don't play stupid Anakin. Senator Amidala."

"Yes, so I hear." Anakin scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Anakin, I know what's going on between you two. You need to tell me. Hiding stuff like this makes you vulnerable to the dark side."

Anakin stopped walkng and sighed. "Yeah. We got married maybe… four years ago? And now she's told me she's having twins." For once, Anakin actually looked helpless. "I don't know what to do, Master. I can't let anyone know I'm her husband, and if something happens to her… I need some way to save her!"

"Anakin, that's the dark side's lie. They can't help you save her. If you follow the teachings of the sith, it'll only make things worse for her. My guess is that the less stressed out she is, the easier of a delivery she'll have." Obi-wan laid one hand on his old Padawan's shoulder, though it was now quite a reach. "Don't be afraid to tell me your fears, Anakin. You can't let them build up inside you."

"But…"

"I'm not going to tell anyone. I have a few of my own secrets, and if you're going to be honest with me, then…" A sigh. "I suppose I need to be honest with you."

"Secrets? You?" Anakin smiled slightly. "You mean the 'model Jedi' has secrets? What, you were supposed to do a hundred katas and you only did ninety-eight?"

"Hmm." Obi-wan started walking again, and Anakin followed.

"Come on, Master, don't leave me hanging."

"I know a few more details about Ventress than I admitted to the council."

"You actually got her to talk to you? Or do you mean she surrendered without a fight?"

"Sort of."

"What'd she say? She told you why she was here? Or who the father is?"

"Erm. Sort of."

"Master, come on, who? Was it really Dooku? Or some low born scum looking for a date? Or maybe-"

"Or maybe she has someone who loves her very much." Obi-wan interrupted quietly. His face was flushed.

"So, some loser actually _likes _her? Whoever that guy is, he's an idiot. I mean-"

"Anakin!" This wasn't going to go over well.

"Sorry, name-calling, I know. But seriously, you gotta admit, he's a loser."

"Anakin, what I'm trying to say is that-"

"But he is!" the Padawan gave one last attempt to argue his case.

"Anakin, you're talking to him." For once in his twenty-some years, Anakin was speechless. "I'd appreciate it if you'd stop insulting the both of us."

"I… I… sorry." Poor Skywalker stared, mouth partly open. "You?"

"_And_ I'd appreciate if you don't mention it to anyone."

"Yeah…" And then he absolutely exploded. "Of all the people to spend a night with! Seriously? Her?"

"There was no 'one night', Anakin. It's not like that. We're married. Have been for two years."

"But… but… how can you? She's working against us; she could be using you for all you know!"

"No. She's been giving us information, all the stuff we've been finding in the computers. I've been entering it as she gives it to me." All was quiet for a few moments as Skywalker tried to compute all this.

"I don't believe you. It's just a cover." Deep down, he probably knew, but he didn't want to admit that the sith witch he hated had his master firmly in her claws.

"Come and see then." Obi-wan grabbed Anakin's wrist and dragged him down the hall to Aayla's rooms, passing the Twi'lik herself on the way.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you. The sith is sulking." Aayla's brow was slanted down slightly over her hazel eyes.

"Oh, we're used to it." Obi-wan replied. "Mind if we go in?" She nodded, and the two Jedi entered.

"Oh, look, the dream team." Asajj stared at them with utter loathing and an unimpressed demeanor from her seat on her bed. "Nothing better to do then pester me?"

"Asajj, you can stop pretending." To her credit, her mask didn't break; she didn't so much as bat an eyelid at his announcement.

"Stop pretending what? That I despise the both of you? That's not an act, that's truth. Hard to accept, I suppose, when everyone _adores _you so much."

"I told Anakin." It was only then that her jaw dropped.

"Why on _Mustafar _did you tell him?"

"Asajj, we have to be honest with eachother! His wife is expecting too, and-"

"Don't tell her that!"snapped Skywalker.

"Oh, so _both_ of the dream team's been breaking the code? Pathetic how corrupt Jedi are these days."

"If I'm corrupt you're to blame." Obi-wan's face inched closer to hers.

"That I am." She shot him a coy smirk.

"So you're not mad?"

"I suppose not." Her smirk became a glare as she looked towards Anakin.

Obi-wan tried valiantly to straighten things out. "Anakin, I need your help in all this. It'll look suspicious if I'm the only one who ever visits her, so you'll have to come see her once in a while."

"Look, I'll keep your little secret, which I'm still not convinced of mind you, but there is no way I'm coming to visit your heinous pet." Ventress's eyes practically spat fire, and Obi-wan had to push her back down or she would've strangled Padme's husband then and there.

"You two," he glanced at both of them, "Will get along, if it's the last thing I do. Anakin, do not insult my _wife, _Asajj, just… don't provoke him. It's hard enough to keep him in control."

"He still doesn't believe you."

"That's right, I don't." he didn't notice the quick look that passed between them. "I think you asked Obi-wan to cover you to me so I'd accept that you're here. And it's not… not…" His brain shorted out as the pair kissed gently. Oh force, the beast was smooching his poor, delusional master.

"Mmm. Happy now, Skywalker?"

"After everything she _did_ Master…? After she _tortured_ you for six months?"

"You have things a bit confused, Skywalker." Asajj hadn't let go of Obi-wan. Who knew that she was able to annoy Skywalker and get close to Kenobi at the same time? "It was during those six months that Dooku married us. There was no torture involved…" an evil grin split her features- "Unless you count Grievous's obnoxious comments about the honeymoon."

The words had the exact effect she was hoping for. He paled, looking utterly disgusted. Obi-wan, on the other hand, reddened. "Don't listen to her, Anakin." He was still sitting next to her. "She's only messing with you."

The door hissed open in the other room, and Anakin wisely went to see who had arrived. "Aayla, sorry to intrude, we were simply…" Obi-wan and Asajj had stopped listening as they went in for another, not-so soft kiss.

"I'll be back soon."

"I'll be waiting impatiently."

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Poor, poor Aayla... she has no idea how much time Obi's going to be spending in her rooms ;)**

**And I promised I wouldn't bug you about reviews. *sigh***


	10. Have their troubles

**This was difficult to write for some reason. The next chapter will be very eventful, so maybe I can write it a little faster?**

**For the record, I don't know much about Rattatakkis or Rattatakk, so the stuff about Ventress's home planet is totally made up. But hey, this is an AU! heh heh.**

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Chapter 10

"_Force, _Master, cut it out!" Anakin's plea was not only unanswered, but unobeyed. "It's utterly disgusting, knock it off!"

Obi-wan pulled out of an intense liplock with Asajj. "Do you mind?"

"Um, yeah, I do mind. It's grossing me out."

"We don't really care." Asajj pointed out. She was noticeably pregnant by now, though still looking smaller than Obi-wan had expected. Barriss Offee, a young healer, had been surprised she wasn't smaller.

_"Normally Rattatakkis give birth to very small young; the labor is shorter and less painful than a human's, but takes much more energy. That energy comes from the stored up fat, which is burned very quickly during that hour."_

_"So I should be smaller?"_

_"Yes. However, if the father wasn't of your species…" the healer glanced towards Asajj, who shook her head. "Then it makes sense that the baby will be slightly larger."_

_"Why _do_ Rattatakkis have smaller children?" Obi-wan asked, overwhelmed by curiousity._

_"Well, in my 'Humanoids of the Galaxy' class," Barriss began- Obi-wan felt a tinge of guilt for not paying attention, frankly, he hadn't really cared about the reproductive differences in various species- "I heard that it's because of a form of microeolution. Smaller children and their mothers were less likely to be killed during childbirth, the mothers were less likely to be killed during pregnancy if the baby was smaller, and mothers who suffered from morning sickness would, yes, be killed."_

_"So, in short, Rattatakk is a brutal place and I need to be able to run the instant something wakes me up?" Well, at least she'd actually benefit from these traits!_

_"Correct. Obi-wan, you can take her back now."_

_"Right." His mind was still whirring. The place was that bad? So bad that you'd be killed if you weren't fast enough? "But surely you'd have the father for protection?"_

_"That's just the thing. Humans usually do have their husband and the father of the child to help them if they need it. Rattatakkis don't."_

_"It's not like this Obi-wan." Asajj put in. "To stay with a male is considered a sign of weakness. And often the male can't even be trusted. It's very… bantha-eat-bantha. To sleep next to someone is basically suicide."_

_"That's awful." Obi-wan whispered. Asajj had broken so many of her homeworld taboos. No wonder she'd been so hesitant to share their bed- every lesson she'd been taught as a child had been screaming at her that falling asleep would result in being killed! _

_"Oh, and Obi-wan?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Keep doing what you're doing."_

_"What am I doing?"_

_"Keep visiting her," Barriss lowered her voice, "She must be feeling so alone." Asajj smiled to herself slightly. She wasn't alone, she had Obi-wan. Barriss may or may not have understood about Kenobi, but she said nothing, so he had escorted her back to Aayla's rooms, where they were now._

"Anakin, there's no reason to freak out. We're just kissing. You know, like any normal couple would do?"

"I know, but still, the whole idea of you two as a couple… seriously. It makes me want to vomit."

"Then leave the room why don't you?" snapped Asajj. Bad enough Obi-wan could only kiss her when Aayla was away, it was downright frustrating that Anakin wouldn't even let them share an admittedly not-so-quick kiss when he first arrived.

"Because the thought will still be in my head, and it'll creep me out." Anakin flicked lazily through channels of the holo-vision. Force, over three _thousand _channels and there was _still _nothing worth watching on? You'd think by now someone would have fixed that age old problem.

"Hmm." Obi-wan hadn't let go, which suited her just fine. She liked being as near to him as possible.

Aayla entered, and they were forced to spring apart. "Ah, Kenobi and Skywalker. Should have guessed I'd find you two in here."

"Why would you guess _that?" _Anakin continued to dejectedly flip through station after station.

"You're always in here. One of you at least." Usually Kenobi, but she didn't mention it. She was beginning to get her own ideas about the relationship between the prisoner and her affectionate guard. _Rediculous, impossible!_ She told herself, but the overwhelming evidence- How often did Kenobi have to visit, and how often did he? They were always sitting together, and seemed jumpy when she entered the room- Surely if her ideas were correct they'd want to sit close? And she'd noticed that Obi-wan often removed the force-supressing cuff Asajj was supposed to keep on.

"Barriss told me she might be lonely, so I've convinced Anakin to help keep her company."

"Yeah. I'm not here because I want to be." Skywalker didn't pry his eyes from the holo-vision. "Seriously, who watches this show?"

"What show is that?" Aayla walked over to him, and away from her questioning of Obi-wan, which was the affect Anakin had wanted. As disgusting as it was when the pair swapped saliva, his master's secret had to remain that way- secret.

"I don't know, some dumb "perfect girl" show. They're trying to find the most perfect girl in the galaxy."

"Perfect how?"

Anakin snorted. "Basically, all the contestants can dance, sing, and speak well. I think they have to do more too. Plus they're all supposed to look pretty."

"And yet I doubt any of them would last three minutes in a fistfight with a Jedi" Asajj rolled her eyes. "Honestly. They should make sparring one of the qualifications."

Obi-wan grinned. "You'd win in a heartbeat." The Jedi stood, up, then turned to his former Padawan. "Come on, we have some sparring of our own to do. Practice time."

"Aww, but Master," the dark-haired Jedi whined, "can't you see I'm watching the holo-vision?"

This comment earned him a skeptical look from both Aayla and Obi-wan, so he sighed and stood up, flipping the holo off. As the men walked out, Aayla whirled on Asajj. "Obi-wan visits a lot, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he's been very kind to me." Ventress watched the other woman suspiciously.

"Why?"

"I guess he knows I need him. He's the only Jedi that was kind to me before all this."

Aayla fidgeted. How to get her to …? After all, wasn't Obi-wan the one she held captive over two years ago? For half a year? A relationship _could _have formed. But it still seemed so unlikely. The model Jedi and the sith assassin? "And, he really likes you, doesn't he?"

"Maybe." Asajj snarled, determined not to answer any more of the nosy questions.

Aayla's voice dropped. "He's the father, isn't he?"

"Of course not!" She paused, and Aayla didn't speak. Ventress swallowed. "Yes."

"I'd never have thought Obi-wan…"

"Of course you didn't think Obi-wan and me," Asajj spat. "He's too good for me; I don't deserve someone like him. You think I don't already know that?"

Aayla looked caught off guard by the assassin's burst of anger. "I didn't mean that at all. I meant…" She looked unsure of how to begin. "Obi-wan is considered the perfect Jedi. So the idea of him and _anyone _is a bit foreign. And before you arrived here, and before I got to know you, I could only think of you as… as a monster."

"I know. He's… he's amazing. I don't deserve the perfect Jedi." The last bit was so soft, Aayla almost didn't catch it. She let it slide.

Obi-wan didn't. "Don't say that." He strode back through the door, then turned to Aayla. "I suppose she told you… everything?" His face flushed- Blast it anyway! He was so prone to blushing easily- Anakin never did, and he was human too. It wasn't fair.

"If by everything you mean that you and Asajj have been… together for a while… then yes."

He sighed. "It's hard. Everyone is talking about you, Asajj, and nothing they say is nice. I want to scream at them sometimes, but I can't. And of course, Anakin's disgusted ny the whole idea, and we've been trying not to make _you _suspicious, Aayla, but…"

"There's just something about the two of you that gives it away. Who else knows?"

"Skywalker. And Master Yoda." Asajj answered. Obi-wan sat down next to her, and she crept over to sit next to him.

"Yoda? Then how does the council not know this?"

Obi-wan frowned. "He said he wanted to see how it played out without interfering. I'm not sure if he's mad at me, or if he supports us, but he knows."

"And _how_ does he know?"

Ventress shrugged. "He's Yoda." And that was answer enough.

"You know, I have to use the fresher." Aayla left and locked herself in the room she didn't need. She got the feeling Obi-wan wanted to speak to Asajj privately. She was right.

"If you _ever listen _to anything I say…"

"I _listen, _I just don't always obey."

"Don't say that."

"Say what?"

"That you don't deserve me." Asajj let out a little hum of pleasure as he wrapped his arms around her.

"But you're… and I'm…"

"You've given so much for me, and you don't even realize it. Think about it. Three years ago, you would have been disgusted by me touching you. You hated me."

She smiled a little. "I don't think I ever hated you. But yes, I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed this."

"Yu gave up your master, your loyalties, you're helping the Jedi, you're even willing to be held prisoner in the Temple. That's a lot."

"I guess.."

"You're beautiful, talented, and I love you."

"Alright, alright, I get the idea!"

Kenobi chuckled. "You're getting tired of me raving about how wonderful you are?"

"Come on, you're _embarrassing _me Kenobi!" she joked. They met eyes for a few moments, but then Aayla poked her head in.

"Are you finished with your private conversation?"

"Ahem. Yes." Obi-wan stood up, snatching frantically for the cuff to cover his awkwardness. He snapped it on Asajj, for once not looking at her, and left Aayla's rooms as quickly as possible, muttering something about Anakin waiting.

"Nervous one, isn't he?" Aayla commented.

More weeks crept by. Asajj grew edgier. The three Jedi she was relying on still had no idea how they were going to get her _out _of the Temple. Aayla, though not a council member, had joined the little discussion circle, which made meeting in her rooms a whole lot easier.

Anakin stared at Aayla as though she'd commented that the sky looked very green today. "What do you mean, cute?"

"I mean, they're cute. Just look at them," she whispered, turning slightly to where Obi-wan and Asajj sat- or, more aptly, where Obi-wan sat and Asajj flopped against him. The side of her head rested against his, and every once and a while, one would smile. "They're talking through their force bond. It's pretty cute, you gotta admit."

"I don't find it cute. I find it kinda creepy."

"Honestly," Obi-wan's eyes opened, and he lifted his head, "I don't know how or why Padme married you. You have the sentimental inclinations of a ravenous wamp rat."

"I'm not even going to bother asking what 'inclinations' means."

The thing about Aayla was that she could smell an argument coming from a quadrant away. "speaking of Padme," she cut in graciously, "Have you figured out names yet?"

"We're still working on that. If they're both girls, it's going to be Leia and Shimi. If we've got one of each, it's Leia and Luke. And we better hope they're not two boys, because Luke is the only boy's name we have."

"I hope you know, Asajj, that Terralon has a master all picked out already." Aayla grinned. "Kit felt bad for her when some loser said she'd end up without a master because no one would want her. So he said that he had dibs, and no other master had better take his future Padawan."

"Could we maybe focus?" Obi-wan asked. "We need a plan here."

"I have a plan!" Anakin volunteered. "It's called, 'Operation Run like Hoth."

Asajj grinned. "No, no. It's kick Council butt, _then _run like hoth!"

"Yeah! But not Yoda. He's too awesome."

"Yeah, Yoda rocks!" Aayla agreed.

Obi-wan sighed. "Why do I feel like I'm working with a group of younglings?"

"Sorry darling." Asajj _was _going to inch closer, but Anakin stopped her.

"Do you _enjoy _grossing me out?"

"Yes, it's something of a hobby."

"Then I'm leaving." Anakin got up, then seeing his master's face, added, "We'll plan more tomorrow."

Aayla sighed. "This isn't going to be easy."

"As a very last resort," Obi-wan paused to glance over at Anakin, but he'd already gone. "We can reveal that she's working for us. I don't think the traitor is on the council."

"I don't either." Ventress leaned against Obi-wan, something she was free to do, now that Skywalker had left. "But it's someone high up, and someone who has some influence in both politics and Jedi matters."

Her husband's face formed a slight scowl. "We'd better focus on getting you out first." Asajj smiled. He always put her ahead of any other problems, which was exactly what she did for him. That was something new to her world, putting someone else first. But she had definitely grown to enjoy it.

**Next chapter is big and important! Terralon will be born, Jedi will be shocked, Sith will be spoken of, and... Kit Fisto will make a startling announcement of sorts.**


	11. But sometimes those troubles

**Yeah, remember last time when I said it'd be easy to write? Well, it turned out to be too long of a chapter, so I've cut it in half.**

**A bit of hilarity, a bit of seriousness...enjoy :)**

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Chapter 11

"What are you doing?" Obi-wan poked his head into Aayla's rooms, where Anakin and Asajj stood, face to face, looks of pure fury on their faces. "Ooh, no, what now?"

"Ventress is being very snippy today." Anakin snarled.

"Snippy? _Snippy?" _Asajj was once again, by the looks of it, trying to restrain herself. "I asked Skywalker-"

"More like ordered me." the Jedi interrupted.

"To get me ice cream. And then he started going on about some bizarre saying I don't know, and he _refuses _to tell me what it means."

"I _told _you, it means exactly what it sounds like." Anakin was holding a carton of ice cream, Obi-wan realized, which was dripping slowly onto Aayla's floor. "There's _no _hidden meaning, _no _tricks, that's just all there is to it!"

"What are the two of you going on about?"

"Please explain to your snarky little pet what 'pickles and ice cream' means." Anakin snapped.

Obi-wan couldn't stop himself from letting out a snort of laughter. "That's what you're fighting about?"

"What does it mean?" Asajj snarled.

"See?" Anakin snapped back. "She keeps asking what it means."

"You know, letting the bantha out of the bag has nothing to do with banthas or bags, it's means telling a secret. What does it mean?"

"It's just a food combination that pregnant women sometimes like." Obi-wan explained.

Ventress wrinkled her nose. "Ew."

"My thoughts exactly. But that's just about all Padme asks for."Anakin threw his arms up in exasperation, splattering a nearby wall with some of the half-melted ice cream leaking from the container. "Come on Master, I fetched your pet her ice cream. Let's get moving. I want to get back before the twins are born."

"Alright, alright." Obi-wan removed the ice cream container from Anakin's hand and gave it to Asajj as they strolled out.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Asajj caught Obi-wan's gloved hand.

"Oh, just a one day mission." Anakin answered for him. "So hopefully we'll be back in time for the twins' birth." Padme was already in the hospital for the delivery, and Anakin was worried that something would happen while he was too far away to save her Obi-wan continually assured him that there wasn't anything he could do anyway.

Kenobi finished the answer. "We're going to crash on the ship…"

"You're crashing the ship? Let me guess, Skywalker's driving?"

"I heard that," snapped Anakin.

Obi-wan chuckled. "Yes, he's flying. Hopefully he won't crash _this_ time, and we'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Be careful."

Obi-wan looked down into the icy orbs, the warmth building in his own eyes. "Have you ever known me _not _to be careful?"

Asajj grinned. "Alright, just don't let Skywalker crash then." He kissed her cheek, and Anakin sighed from the doorway.

"Let's move, Master! Ship is_ leaving_!"

Aayla strolled in leasurly, stretching. "Dream team gone?"

"Dream team gone." Confirmed Asajj.

"And how do you feel?"

Frustrated sigh. "Why do people keep asking me that?"

"Maybe because you're due to give birth any day now?"

"It takes a lot more than that to make me _not _fine. Not fine would be… I don't know, bruised so bad you can't move, or bleeding _all_ over, maybe if you get hit with enough force-lightning…"

"Ugh. You have a _high_ pain threshold, don't you?"

"Eh. I'm used to it." The rattatakki curled herself up, something she rarely did on her own. She'd never slept like that before, but then she'd enjoyed sleeping that way when Obi-wan was next to her, and now she felt as though she could curl her body around her daughter.

Ventress had never really considered herself 'motherly'. She was too tough to be motherly. But her whole perception had changed over the past several months. She loved Terralon as much as she loved Obi-wan, and that too had been something she'd considered impossible. As a child, she'd decided that she didn't like the men of rattatakk- they were rough, crude, and generally not interested in staying with a woman for very long. When her master had told her that Jedi didn't have attatchments, it was no crushing blow. Most people of her planet didn't anyway.

Then, when she'd experienced more of the galaxy, she'd learned that most peoples weren't like that. But as a sith apprentice, who would want her, who would she want? And of course, Kenobi had changed her whole world. Now Terralon was changing it once more, but again in a good way.

Obi-wan sat up slightly, nearly hitting his head on the bottom of Anakin's bunk above him. Curse the beds on this ship anyway! He'd felt something in the force from Asajj, but what it was he didn't know. It could be that Terralon was arriving, or that the council was going to do something stupid, or even that the sith had discovered who she was, where she was, or the fact that she was going to have a child. The only thing he knew was that he had to get home- now.

"Anakin!" He pounded his Padawan's mattress from below- Anakin was a very hard sleeper.

"Anakin, get up."

"Mmmmmfff." From the sound of it, Anakin's face was buried in his pillow. "Izz nah morin yeh."

Obi-wan took this to mean, 'It's not morning yet.' "Yes, but Asajj is trying to tell me something important. We have to get back to Corousant."

"You fly. I'm dead."

"Alright, if you _really _want me flying this ship. Where's the manual again? I don't remember where the brakes are. Not that we'll need them." He paused, waiting to see if this statement had any effect. It did.

"Fine. You owe me _big time _for this." Skywalker jumped down from the top bunk and dragged himself to the pilot's chair.

"So, Master? Can I just ask you something?" the two Jedi, still in their mud-spattered robes from their mission yesterday, strode down hallways, headed from the hanger to Aayla's rooms.

"Ask away."

"Why the hoth do you like Ventress so much? I mean, I get that you like her, but _why?"_

"You don't get it because you only see in her what she wants you to see."

Anakin contemplated this for a moment. "What?"

"What I mean is that... she has this whole other side to her personality, a softer side. But she doesn't really open that up to anyone."

"Well, why not? People wouldn't hate her that much if she did."

Obi-wan smiled slightly. "Ventress views that side as weakness, and she's too proud to admit to the world that she's weak. She wants to appear tough. And she is, it's just that… she can be very sweet, when she wants to."

"Ok, that's weird." Anakin decided. The door to Aayla's rooms slid open, as the pair approached, and there sat Ventress herself.

"Took you long enough. You missed the whole thing." To both of their surprise, she _wasn't pregnant anymore._

"Where's Terralon?" Obi-wan asked, startled.

"I gave birth about… five hours ago." She began to stand up, looking tired, and Obi-wan took her hand to help her up. "He's in with the other younglings already. And we're due for a council meeting. Like, right now."

"Wait, he?" Anakin caught her. "Obi-wan, didn't you say you're having a daughter?"

Ventress answered for her still-befuddled husband. "I… felt wrong. He's a he."

"I can't wait to go see him." Obi-wan whispered. "What does he look like?"

"I… didn't get to hold him. They took him." Her face creased slightly. "Obi-wan, what if I never get to see him? If I escape here…"

"I'll make sure you do, somehow. Are you up for a council meeting?"

"I'd prefer not to, but I don't have a choice."

"You look so exhausted."

"I'll make it. If we run into any problems, we can let on about me being a spy, and hopefully they'll let me off. But that's a last resort."

"No, we can't tell anyone that. There's a traitor, we can't just… it's for your safety."

"And what do we say then?"

"We'll admit that I'm Terralon's father. It'll buy us some time."

"That'll ruin your whole life as a Jedi." Asajj protested. "It's more important that we keep you here in the Temple, so you can look after our son."

"no. Your life is far more important than my reputation."

"Kenobi, they won't care if you're Terralon's father. I'm still a vicious criminal, remember?"

Obi-wan shook his head. "It'll change their whole perspective."

"Yes. Their whole perspective on you; they'll think of you as crazy. Obi-wan, would you just let me-"

"No, you don't understand. If the traitor happens to be on the council…"

"They already know I'm pregnant."

"But you can maybe cover for that. Learning you're a traitor is instant death."

"I'll find a way out. We need to prove my innocence instead of just buying time!"

"Ventress, I'm worried about y-mmhhmmmfff." Asajj, tired of his arguments, grabbed his shoulders and kissed his mouth. It was a pretty darn effective way to shut him up. Though he hadn't been expecting it, Obi-wan most certainly didn't object.

"Hey!" Anakin yelped. "Quit eating each other's faces and let's get to the meeting already!" Kenobi, still looking a bit flustered, nodded.

"You're sure you're alright?"

The former assassin rolled her eyes. "Fine. Now we'd better do as Skywalker suggested before someone comes looking for the two of you."

"Now, we've come to a decision point." Mace looked calmly around the council room. "We know why Ventress came here, but the question is what to do with her. Opinions? Ideas?"

Silence filled the room for a while. Ventress stood wearily in the center of the room, wishing there was another chair. She didn't want to admit it, but cut off from the energy of the Force, she was finding herself exhausted. _Show no weakness. You are strong. _

"So, can we kill her now?" The same Jedi who'd wished to kill her before had very repetitive thoughts.

"Yeah, I say kill her." Another one put in.

"Any other opinions that don't involve killing?" Mace asked.

Obi-wan spoke up. "I say we keep her here a bit longer. She seems to be a bit more… open to us than she has been in the past. Staying here has really had a good effect on her."

"Skywalker?"

"Oh, um… what Obi-wan said."

Mace gazed at him levelly. "Let me get this straight. You agree with your master."

"Yes."

"And you don't have naything of your own to add?"

"Nope."

"And we're having a discussion about Ventress."

"So?"

Mace cracked a smile. "You two have always been complete opposites when it comes to her. You've always wanted her dead before. And I think we all know how much Kenobi is interested in redeeming this assassin."

Ventress shot her lover a quick smirk, and Obi-wan coughed slightly, most likely to hide his embarrassment. He'd been... interested in her for quiteg a while, but if even _the council_ noticed...

"So… Master Yoda? Do you have anything to contribute?"

"Hmmm." There was a long, long pause, and everyone leaned in, eager to hear what the wise mster had to say. "Interesting, it is."

"Yes." Windu agreed, and ripples of agreement went around the circle of Jedi.

"So… can we kill her?" Another Jedi put in.

Mace sighed. "Alright, alright. We're taking a vote. All those in favor of not killing Ventress…"

Ventress stared around, hoping and praying she had more than six… Obi-wan, Anakin, Adi, Shaak, Plo. Yoda sat calmly, but didn't raise his claw.

"And those who want to kill her?" Ki-Adi, Sasee, three she didn't know. Five to five. And then Mace slowly raised his hand. She bit her lip.

"Don't I get a vote?" She asked, just as Obi-wan began to say "Wait, maybe-"

Mace stared. "Why on earth would you get a vote? I'm sorry, Ventress. But you're too dangerous to keep alive."

"I get a vote," She paused for a breath, "because I'm a spy for the Republic."

The council stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief.

"I've been giving you the information you find in the computers." Asajj glanced around, hoping they'd believe this.

"And just how did you hack into our system? Security is very tight." Mace was frowning, but she guessed it was more from confusion than anger.

Obi-wan stood. "That was me Masters. She's been giving me the information, but she wanted to do so without the knowledge of the republic, because someone's a traitor."

The poor council really didn't know what to do.

"I still say we kill her just to make sure." That same Jedi was so persistant, it was almost admirable.

"Oh for crying out loud." Mace turned to Ventress. "I wish to apologize for all that about killing you. If you really are working for the republic, you should have our eternal gratitude." Ventress opened her mouth to speak, but Mace cut her off. "But, there's still one thing we need to know. Who is your son's father? Even if we've never heard of him."

She should have known the question was coming. "With all due respect, Master, how is this relevant?"

"Because it is." Mace replied calmly.

"I'd have to agree with her, Master Windu." Obi-wan put in. "At this point, we have to make sure it's not just about our own curiousity."

"Yes, but as a few people mentioned, if the child was intended to be Dooku's newest apprentice…" Mace sighed. "It's just something we need to know."

She glanced hesitantly over at Obi-wan. What she really wanted right now was to sit down, or better yet have the cuff blocking her force-access removed so she could draw on its energy. This whole giving birth thing was tiring, and… and… cut off from the force... her head was spinning...

Obi-wan sprang up, crossed the room in a few strides, and put one arm gently around her. Usually she wouldn't want to lean against him with so many people around, but now she accepted his shoulder gladly. He forced himself to look up, at the council. He'd just made the answer perfectly clear.

**How was it? Even though I split it, was it still an ok chapter?**


	12. Melt away

**Finally! the council's long-awaited reaction!**

**I get sucked into writing the stupid crossover, and then I put off this... "I'll do it laaaaater..."**

**Yeah. I know. I fail. Enjoy anyway.**

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Chapter 12

The council had been through a lot. They thought they had seen it all. Until now. A few looked angry, but whether they were angry at Obi-wan or Ventress neither one knew. A few just looked shocked, Mace included, and it was almost comical to see the once-calm Jedi with his eyes popping open in surprise. Yoda was smiling. Anakin looked bored to tears.

"Well. I wasn't expecting this." Adi broke the silence.

Mace wouldn't be satisfied until he had the complete answer, in facts, right in front of him. "Obi-wan, does this mean that you are the man we're looking for?"

"Yes, Master. Ventress is my wife." This statement was followed with more dead silence. Ventress, looking up at his face, realized that he was… _unashamed. _He didn't want to admit that he had broken the rules, but he wasn't afraid to admit that he had broken the rules _with her. _Cute, in a way, but not at all helpful right now. She'd add it to her list of things to tell him when they talked later, which they were definitely going to do. She couldn't let him off without bringing up Mace's comment about his obvious interest in her.

Anakin cleared his throat. "While we're on the subject of Jedi being secretly married, I might as well admit that-" his voice trailed slowly off. "That I'm married to Senator Amidala."

"That's no surprise." Shaak muttered.

"I think _all_ of us already knew that." Mace told the younger Jedi gently. Anakin slumped down in his chair, somewhat dejected that his grand announcement had gone over without a care, while the entire council was still staring at his master.

"She has corrupted him." One Master snarled.

That same Jedi got in his opinion once more. "Yeah. I say we kill her."

Obi-wan's temper finally reached its breaking point. "Just shut up, why don't you!"

"Obi-wan, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed." Mace finally managed to stammer. "Nothing against Ventress, as she's working for us, but you still have broken the code, and gone against the will of the Force."

"I'd have to disagree, Master. The will of the Force-"

"The will of the Force _is _the code." Ki-Adi put in.

"That's what I thought too." Obi-wan admitted. "But the Force pulled me to her, through a strong bond. It's… a very long story." His hand reached down to Ventress's and removed the Force-blocking cuff. Asajj, glad to feel the Force flowing through her body again, took her weight off Obi-wan's shoulder, and stood next to him, facing the council.

"Council dismissed." Mace said slowly. "Obi-wan, Ventress, you stay here." The pair shared a quick glance. The Jedi groaned, disappointed to be left so much in the dark, and left the room, eager to tell absolutely everyone about the latest gossip. And this one was a _good _one.

A few minutes later, in the now empty council room, Mace heaved a great sigh. "So, how _did_ all this start? When she began her spy work?"

"No. When I was… kidnapped, if you will, by Dooku, I was given a choice: death, or marriage to Ventress."

"Interesting, it is. As before, I mentioned." The slight smile hadn't left Master Yoda's face. "What motives, my old apprentice had?"

"Dooku was hoping for Kenobi to join the dark side through his attachment to me. Of course, that didn't work so well. He… brought me to the light."

"Survive, hatred cannot, with love. Cliché, it may sound, but true, it is."

Mace, in all honesty, looked somewhat creeped out. "Love? Love is the dark-side antidote?"

"Not always. But sometimes. Friendship. Truth. Love. Benevolence. All ward off the dark-side better than any rules. Hmm?"

"Master Yoda, are you saying you _support _this incident of rule-flaunting?"

"If the will of the Force, Obi-wan thought it was, then hold it against him, we can not."

"But surely they can't _stay _together? Surely he will have to go back to being a normal Jedi?"

Obi-wan cut in. "No."

"What exactly do you mean, 'no'?"

"I mean no. I'm not going to leave Ventress and continue with normal life. Either we both stay, or we both leave. Because I don't know about you," He glanced at Asajj, "But I'm tired of living a secret lie-filled life just to spend time together. I'm not hiding it anymore."

Ventress smiled. "Don't proclaim it from the housetops just yet, darling. We still have two sith lords and a traitor lurking."

"Speaking of this traitor, who is he?"

"That's the trouble. I don't know." Ventress sank into one of the counsil chairs. "He's someone powerful enough in the darkside to hide his dark presense."

Obi-wan brought up a hand to stroke his beard thoughtfully. "He must have a hand in the workings of the senate somewhere."

"And in the Jedi affairs." Mace put in. "There aren't many involved in both."

"High up, too."

"Getting closer, we are."

Mace frowned. "I can only think of one person, but it seems so unlikely…"

"Palpatine?" Obi-wan suggested. He glanced towards Ventress. "That name ring a bell?"

She shook her head. "Other than the fact that he's the ruler of the whole galaxy, no. Show me his holo."

Mace pulled a projector from his belt and flicked through pictures until he found the projection he was looking for. "Familiar?"

"That's him. That's the other sith."

"Found him, we have. Run, Dooku's apprentice cannot."

Ventress's eyes widened. "No. Dooku's _Master_. He's the upper sith." The Jedi thought they were looking for an apprentice?

Mace looked horrified. "More powerful than Dooku? We're gonna need a lot of Jedi. Clones, too"

"Not clones. Only Jedi." Obi-wan asserted. "The clones take orders from him, remember? Force, that's why the clones must have been made! To become his personal army!"

"You know what they are?" Ventress's voice was suddenly hushed. "The best Jedi-killing machine ever created. One word from the chancellor… And you've all been shot in the back. Literally."

"Of course!" Obi-wan muttered. "While the sith keep us stretched thin, manipulating a war from both sides, we're easy to infiltrate. Then when we're gone, it's easy for the sith to rule the whole galaxy, uniting both sides."

"I can't believe I was a pawn in all this." Ventress whispered, but Mace ignored her and continued planning.

"Ok, Obi-wan. Go get Ki-Adi, Shaak, and… I don't know, one other person. Master Yoda, if you don't mind, please stay here to watch the Temple, and the younglings. We don't know when or where an attack will come."

"I am coming with, right?" Ventress arched an eyebrow at the master before her.

"No."

"But Obi-wan needs-"

"I said no. You've just given birth for crying out loud. You're staying here, in the Temple."

"You don't trust me." Asajj snapped accusingly.

"Ventress." Obi-wan interjected. The last thing he needed was for her to pick a fight with Mace Windu. "I know, you want to come, but… he has a point."

Shocked, Ventress stared at him. "Kenobi!"

"I want you to come too. But if you're ever going to live here at the Temple, you have to get used to listening and obeying. Even when the orders don't make sense."

"Hey! They make perfect sense!"

"Just, using this as an example, Master." Obi-wan explained hastily.

The former assassin scowled. "Promise me you'll be careful."

His eyes softened. "Have you ever known me _not _to be careful?" _Now, _Ventress thought, _would be a perfect time for a kiss, but with Windu standing here…_

Said Jedi seemed to notice the tension. "Alright, chop-chop, Obi-wan. Go round up those Jedi." He said in a voice that was almost too loud. Ventress grinned as Kenobi begrudgingly left. Jedi were so amusing.

~~~Not all that much later~~~

"I _hate _this! I hate this. So much." Skywalker kicked angrily at the wall. His boot left a black scuff mark.

"And how do you think I feel? At least your precious wife isn't out there without you." Ventress sat down against the wall, arms folded. Mace, Ki-Adi, Shaak, Obi-wan, and the Jedi who wanted to kill her had gone to arrest Palpatine, but everyone involved knew he wouldn't come quietly.

"She's still at the blasted hospital. And all _I _can do is sit here in the Temple and hope Mr. Sithy doesn't kill half the Jedi council, my Master included. Why don't you go see your little youngling-to-be?"

"I want to wait until Obi-wan's back. I want us to go see him together." She replied. Hard to explain why she wanted it done that way.

Anakin shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Ventress reached out slowly towards Skywalker's master, hoping for some insight as to what was happening…

_"Is something wrong?" _His voice poured into her mind.

_"No. I didn't want to disturb you… I just needed to make sure… I eman, to see…"_

_"If I'm alive? No worries. I'm just fine. Mace is reading him his rghts, I'm surprised he hasn't attacked yet- strike that. He's attacking." _Those words surrounded by the silence of the hallway were strange.

_"Do you need help? Anakin and I are-"_

_"Yes, I know you and Anakin are both ever eager to get involved. But orders are-augh!"_

_"Obi! Obi-wan?"_

There was nothing. She could feel, distantly, pain. It was fading away, but she got no reply. What if…?

"Skywalker!" she snapped abruptly.

"What?"

"Obi-wan's hurt. We're going over there. Get your ship."

Anakin's eyes narrowed, and she could tell he was considering going without her, but he nodded eventually.

~~~At the Senate building~~~

There was a certain eerie silence outside the door to the chancelor's office. Skywalker and Ventress took a simultaneous deep breath before Anakin tapped the button, causing the metal door to slide open.

The scene before them could well be described as 'absolute chaos where a sith lord laughs like a maniac and attacks everyone in sight', because that was what was happening.

Anakin dove forward immediately, Ventress entered more cautiously, looking for Obi-wan. Several clones lay dead throughout the room- most likely killed by their own bullets deflecting off the sabers of Jedi who had known they were loyal to Palpatine. Among those bodies lay another body- that of the Jedi who had wanted to kill her. She felt a spasm of guilt for those tiny little death wishes she'd sent his way earlier.

Focus! Find Kenobi. Get him out if necessary. Obi-wan's loyalties may be to the Jedi, but hers were to him first. To the man who had drawn her out of darkness and become her lover.

_There. _She darted along the wall, avoiding open places where the sith might spot her. His palms shot powerful lightning out, going for the few Jedi left standing- Windu, Shaak, Ki-Adi. Shaak was limping.

"Obi-wan!" He didn't respond, but thankfully, she could see the shaky rise and fall of his chest. Her old anger began to flare up towards both the Sith and Jedi. At all of them. The sith for hurting him, for using her. The Jedi for sending Obi-wan into this life of fighting, for imprisoning her. Now was not a time for anger, she rationalized, but at the same time, _that sith was going down. _No matter what.

"Sidous!" the time for hiding was over. The sith noticed her for the first time- his focus had been on Skywalker before. "Remember me? Dooku's apprentice you thought might kill you?"

He gave no reply. She didn't need one.

"You were _right." _She dove forward, snatching the blade of the Jedi who had wanted her dead. Anger was in her once again. It felt so much easier this way, to fight like this. It felt right, like her old times, when she'd fought the Jedi. Obi-wan said that anger blinded her, left her vulnerable to his calmer attacks, but against a man like this, who was so full of hatred himself, surely her righteous anger would give her an advantage?

A red blade met her green one. She deflected it and struck again, feeling both anger and righteousness, light and dark, flowing through her at once. Ki-Adi darted to her aid suddenly, blocking anther swing she hadn't seen coming.

"What are _you _doing here?" He shouted.

"Came for Kenobi."

To her surprise, he chuckled. "Always knew he had a thing for you."

Well. Add _that _to her list of stuff to bug him about later. The master who had spoken those words fell back as the powerful sith managed to hit him with a burst of lightning.

"Not to goo at following orders, are you? You're as bad as Skywalker." Mace had filled Ki-adi's place.

"It's why they don't get along." Shaak put in. "Both of them stubborn to the core." One leg flew out, striking the Sith from an unexpected source. She got in a good hit to his chest, and he fell backwards. Shaak collapsed, her wounded leg unable to support all her weight. The red blade flew out of his hand in a wide arc, and Ventress caught it with the Force.

Mace stood over him, saber casting a purple glow on the sith's grey face. "He dies. Now."

Palpatine's yellow eyes darted to Skywalker. "Anakin… surely you enjoyed our meetings? Surely I was helpful to you? Don't let them kill meeee…."

"Oh, you mean the meetings where you tried to turn my fear against me? And use me?" Anakin spoke from the shadows behind the sith, eyes filled with.. not anger, but _hurt? _He hadn't liked being taken advantage of, just as she hadn't.

As Mace's saber moved down, Sidous pulled Kenobi's saber over and struck off Mace's hand. The Jedi sank down, other hand instinctively moving to his wrist. Asajj and Ki-Adi flew back under another siege of Force-lightning, and the sith surged forward. His eyes fell on Obi-wan and gleamed. Kenobi's own saber moved towards his throat-

Ventress forced herself off the ground, springing towards the sith. It was a long shot, but… the tip of her saber got in a slash at his ankles, and he collapsed. Anakin was on him in an instant, blue saber at the man's back.

"Trying to kill Obi-wan? Big mistake." The lightsaber plunged straight into his heart.

Ventress stopped to survey the scene, pulse still racing. Mace was wraping up his wrist in a torn scrap of cloak, Shaak was delicately testing her weight on her left leg, Ki-Adi was getting up slowly. Only Obi-wan remained still.

It was then that she remembered that she wasn't supposed to be here. She dropped the sith's saber and resorted to another favored method of her's- Operation _Run like Hoth._

~~~Undisclosed location~~~

A knock broke the silence. As the door swung open slowly, the eyes of the opener stared. Beyond the door stood a woman from his past. _Ventress. _

"Hello, my old friend. Remember me?"

**Cliffhanger! ha ha ha! cookies to whoever can guess Ventress's 'old friend'. **

**And YES, I killed that stupid Jedi who wanted to kill Asajj, because, well, SOMEONE had to die in the battle with Sidous, so consider it poetic justice ;)**


	13. With a little time

**Apologies about the wait! Hope this makes up for it, and I hope you enjoy it. It closes off this story arc, but there's still one or two more chapters to come, just to finish off what happened.**

**Please, please, please reveiw. I'm really hoping to hit 100(!) reveiws with this chapter- it'd be an absolute dream come true to reach that goal!**

* * *

Chapter 13

"Never thought I'd see you again. What brings you here?" There was distrust in the cyborg's voice.

"It's not on Dooku's orders, if that's what you're thinking. I was hoping I could rest here a while."

Grievous swung the door wider, welcoming her inside. "Who's mad at you now?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" She'd taken no time at all curling up on his couch.

"You're here to hide. And I want to know why."

"I'm only staying for a night. Just to rest. Then I'll go back."

"Back where? Dooku?"

"No. The Jedi Temple, if you can believe it."

"Why would you go there? Better question, why would you go _back _there?"

"It's a very long story, but to get to the point, my loyalties aren't to Dooku anymore either."

"So you give your allegiance to the Jedi?"

"I told you it was a long story. Just let me sleep, okay? I just helped kill a sith lord, and I'm tired."

"Answer _one _question first."

"Shoot."

"Why are you here instead of the Temple? Just rest there."

"Ehhhh… I broke a few rules. They didn't kick me out, if that's what you're thinking, but I can't face punishment yet. I told you, I need to sleep."

"What sith lord did you kill?"

"That's more than one question." Her eyes slid open a crack.

"My house, my rules." He growled. "What sith?"

"Sidous. I'll tell you how we killed him tomorrow."

"Does this whole Jedi thing have anything to do with Kenobi?" Ventress pretended she had gone to sleep. She had the feeling Grievous wouldn't like that answer to that one, and it would lead to _more _questions. Eventually, he clanked out of the room, and she drifted off to real sleep.

~~~The morning~~~

"What do you want with her, Jedi?" Grievous's angered voice could be heard from out of the room, and it woke her. _Kenobi? _

"I just want to talk to her. I swear." It was Skywalker's voice, much to her disappointment.

"what do you want, Skywalker?" She called, still tired. Was a night's sleep too much to ask?

Grievous must have let him in, because he waltzed into the room like he owned it. "I'm here to bring you back to the Temple."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? You're loyal to us now, right?"

"Well, yeah. Why are you here? I thought they'd have sent Kenobi."

Anakin looked uncomfortable. "Obi-wan... hasn't woken up yet. Still out like a light."

Her eyes widened. "Obi-wan… Ok, we're going back. Now. And how the hoth did you find me, anyway?"

Anakinn shrugged. "Wasn't that hard. We knew you'd go someplace to rest, and Grievous is the only person you trust, outside of any of us. We knew Grievous had abandoned the separatists in favor of his home planet, and therefore, his home village. All I had to do then was ask for the whereabouts of a cyborg."

"Then I've betrayed Grievous. If you Jedi know where he lives…"

"We know where he is, sure. That doesn't mean we're coming to kill a cyborg who managed to escape mind control."

"Hm. I guess you Jedi aren't as merciless as Dooku said. Now let's go." Ventress and Skywalker had both started for the door, but Grievous blocked it.

"You promised a full story."

Asajj sighed, knowing that as much as she'd prefer not to tell him, he deserved to know. "Ok, but it'll be quick. If Obi-wan's still passed out-"

"If? What, you think I'm lying?"

Ventress narrowed her eyes. "Just let me tell what happened so we can get back to him."

Grievous looked slightly surprised. "Kenobi's involved, is he?

Anakin butted in. "Of course he's involved. He's practically the main character."

Ventress ignored him. "Obi-wan was at the ship for only a few days after you left. Dooku ordered him killed, and I helped him escape. Then we started meeting again so that I could give him information."

Anakin snorted. "That's obviously not _all _you were doing if-"

"Shut up, I'm telling this. So about half a standard year ago, I came to the Temple to escape Dooku, but while I was there we uncovered the identity of the second Sith. We killed him, and I flew here to rest, and Obi-wan's still knocked out."

"Oh, and the hige gaping plot hole? You forgot that part."

"I… have a son."

The look in Grievous's eyes was part disgust, part anger, part pure disbelief. "Please tell me Kenobi is not involved in this part of the story."

"That's what I wanted to hear." Anakin put in. "And of course, Obi-wan goes on to explain about how they've been married for years and they just _loooooove _eachother."

"Of course he's involved in this part. He's involved in all of it, really."

It was always hard to tell Grievous's expression, but right now, it was most definitely disgust. "I thought that by now you would have managed to shake off the Jedi scum by now."

"Kenobi may be a Jedi, but he's still _my _Jedi."

"You're going to spend your whole life with Kenobi because of Dooku's stupid plan?"

"No, not because of Dooku's stupid plan, because I _want _to spend my life with Kenobi."

Grievous coughed. "You have fun with that. I'm living right here, where I want to be."

"Well…" Ventress was thoughtful for a moment, then finished, "Corausant certainly isn't where I want to be. To be honest, I hate the place. But I'm with Obi-wan there. And… that makes it home. Know what I mean?"

Grievous stared at her for a moment. "No. I don't. Now you and Skywalker get out of my house and get back to your precious Kenobi."

She smiled slightly. "Thank you Grievous!" For all his lack of understanding, obnoxiousness, and disgust at the idea of herself and Kenobi, Grievous was still someone she could count on. Asajj followed Anakin out to his ship. Obi-wan's starfighter, which she'd 'borrowed', was already in the cargo bay. Anakin, as she'd expected, took the pilot's seat.

The thing that she had in common with Anakin- well, among many really; as Master Windu had mentioned, they were both too stubborn to get along with eachother- was an appreciation for ships. For how they flew, how they handled, cornered, and accelerated, and how they _felt. _There was always a certain feel to certain ships, and she could feel something in this one- a sort of 'Broken-down-junk-that-has-been-fixed-to-near-perfection' feel.

"Hurry up."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." There was silence for a few minutes as Anakin flew. "You know, I think I just realized something. You really love my master."

"It took you this long to figure that out?"

"Well, I _knew _it, but… It always just seemed to me like here's Obi-wan, and he just _looooooves _you, and you're just amused by the whole thing."

One eyebrow arched. "You seriously think I'd be kissing Obi-wan because he amused me?"

Anakin just shook his head. "You actually like him."

"Yes, Skywalker. I love Obi-wan." Before, she wouldn't have wanted to admit that. Not to anyone. Not even to Obi-wan. Not even to herself. It was a weakness, something to be ashamed of. But now… The instant they were back with Obi-wan, she wanted to tell him. As soon as he woke up…

~~~Jedi Temple~~~

He was already awake. "Anakin, did you- Ventress!" His face lit up from the hospital bed. "You're alright?"

"Yeah. She shuffled her feet for a moment, feeling awkward, then launched herself at him. "Obi-wan, I love you."

Obi-wan was silent, startled. "I love you"s from Ventress were quite scarce. Usually in response to an "I love you", he'd get "mmm", "Yeah", sometimes "Feeling's mutual", and far too often, "mmmmhmmmrrrrrrmmm", usually when her face was against her pillow and she wasn't inclined to lift it. Sometimes she'd even give him an affectionate "I hate you", which he'd learned to interpret into a sign of fondness.

"I love you… too, Darling."

"You say it as though-"

"It's unexpected, is all." He explained. There was another pause- one that might have been quite romantic, if it weren't for the fact that Anakin stood awkwardly in the doorway, staring idly at the ceiling.

She dropped her voice to _that _tone, the 'I'm-going-to-embarrass-you-but-do-it-very-sexily-and-just-between-the-two-of-us' tone. "So, is Master Mindi's comment true?

"What comment?" Obi-wan replied wearily. He recognized the tone.

"Oh, he just mentioned that he knew you always had a 'thing' for me." Obi-wan swallowed. "Always, Kenobi? _Always?"_

"Well…"

"I thought this all started when we were married, this whole feelings thing. Apparently not."

"Hey, you're the one who _choose _me out of all the Jedi."

"Touché." She whispered, smiling. "But at least I wasn't so obvious that the Jedi council picks up on it."

"I'm not _obvious. _Anakin, am I obvious?"

"Huh?"

"Anakin refused to believe we were together even after I _told _him."

Ventress wrinkled her nose. "You can't count him, he wouldn't know obvious if…" At that moment, Kit Fisto entered, holding Terralon gently. The little boy was asleep.

"He doesn't have a name, does he?" Obi-wan asked quietly. Ventress shook her head as Kit held her son out to her.

"Yes, he does." Kit interjected. "I started calling him Griphon while you were gone, and… it stuck."

"With the whole Temple?" Obi-wan's eyes widened.

"Yes. He's quite a popular little guy. We've never had a youngling this young before, so he's the center of everyone's attention. And he's such a happy little boy, rarely fusses."

While it was lovely to know that... Griphon... was welcome in the the Temple, it was still a little upsetting that he was the last person to see his own son. Ventress was gazing down at him now, and Anakin was standing at her shoulder, his desire to see his master's son overcoming his disgust towards his master's wife.

And he was sitting in the hospital gurney, one foot in a cast, completely unable to see.

Finally Asajj held... Griphon... out to him, with a whisper of "I wish he looked more like you."

"You _want _it to be completely and totally obvious that I'm his father?"

She grinned. "I want him to be handsome."

Obi-wan had been imagining the boy as a blend of himself and Asajj, which perhaps he was, but had some features all his own. There was a little hair on his head, a deep brown with a hint of red, and his skin was paler than that of a human, but deeper than Ventress's. "Kit? What color eyes?" He didn't want to wake Griphon up to look.

Fisto laughed. "What do you think? Blue, blue as anything."

~~~That evening~~~

"Anakin. And Ventress." Mace was glancing back and forth between the two. "Why do I get the feeling I'll be repremending you both quite a bit?" The rest of the council was seated, as usual, in a circle, but Ventress felt far less intimidated now than she had months ago.

Anakin shook his head. "No way are we doing _anything _together after this."

Mace was one of several who smiled rather knowingly- Obi-wan included. "Trust me. You two will indeed be together in your trouble-making, code-breaking, overall mischeif. I can tell."

"I certainly hope not." Obi-wan put in. "I'll keep an eye on them, don't worry."

"Now that there's two of them, they might finally be able to drag Obi-wan into some trouble. Which would actually be a refreshing change." Shaak responded.

"Obi-wan's in enough trouble for now, thank you Shaak." Mace asserted. Obi-wan wasn't really in _trouble, _thanks to Master Yoda, but many Jedi were still giving him the cold shoulder for his "affair" with Ventress, no matter how many times he explained that it _wasn't _an affair, and that they'd have to get used to Asajj being in the Temple.

"What's our punishment?" Ventress asked finally.

"Library work for you, Skywalker, since I know how much you enjoy it." Anakin groaned. Mace continued- "And Ventress, you technically were not under my jurisdiction when I told you not to come fight the sith, so for that, nothing. However, for your crimes against the Republic and the Jedi, you must continue your work as a spy. I know it's dangerous work, but I think you're capable."

She stared at him for a moment, shocked. "That's it? That's my punishment? All I have to do is continue spying, and I can be a Jedi?"

"She's used to far more... violent penalties." Obi-wan muttered, remembering suddenly her shaky body collapsing against him, lying on the bed while he tried to figure out what was wrong.

"I never said anything about Jedi training, but... the council has decided to allow it anyway- eight to three." Oh yes... there was an empty seat now. A council member killed. "My guess is that you'll be a tough apprentice- you'll have to un-learn the ways of the sith before you begin with those of a Jedi."

"Which is why decided to take you as my own Padawan, I have." Yoda announced, smiling. "Look forward to our training, I do."

"Master Yoda, I'm honored to..."

"Master, are you sure about this?" Mace Windu spoke again. "As I said, she won't be an easy Padawan- maybe even a hopeless case. You wanted a good Padawan so badly..."

"And found one, I have. Many skills, she holds. And turned from dark, she already is. Done for me, the hard part was."

~~~Night~~~

The healer had confined both of them to the medical ward- Obi-wan for the broken bone in his ankle, Ventress for having given birth and fought a sith within 24 hours of eachother. Miraculously, they'd managed to find a room empty of other patients, so they could at least talk.

"You wanted him to look like me?"

"Well, as soon as I was told he was a son, I was hoping, for, well... mini-you."

"Force, I'm glad he isn't."

"Better than mini-me." Ventress responded, closing her eyes. There was no reason to keep them open. The only thing to see was the ceiling. Obi-wan was several feet away, seperated from her by the metal bars on the side of the hospital bed.

"You never saw me when I was young. I was a terror of a youngling." he confessed.

"I can't imagine that, actually."

Kenobi smiled very slightly. "I was twelve, and Master Yoda was planning to take a Padawan. I had such high hopes, that even though I was young... he'd pick me. He didn't of course, and it made me realize that if I was ever going to be a decent Jedi, I'd have to straighten up. So I did, and I was the 'model Padawan' ever after."

"Until I came into the picture and ruined your perfect track record." He could hear amusement in her voice.

"Yes, until then." he returned affectionately. There was a silent minute, and she thought he'd gone to sleep. "You're lucky. Yoda hasn't had a Padawan since the one he picked when I was twelve."

"Mmm."

"A lot of Jedi will hold that against you too, sadly. Yoda's hoping they'll respect you for it."

"I have a lot ahead of me, don't I?"

He didn't respond right away, but this time she knew he was awake.

"I mean, working for the sith, undercover, training with Yoda, helping care for Griphon..."

Still no answer.

"You are satisfied with that name, aren't you?"

Nothing.

"We can change it, if you hate it."

Finally he spoke. "In all that, the training, and motherhood, and spying..."

He sent the rest of the sentence through their bond. '_Don't forget about me.' _

_'Never.' _

**_D'aaawwww. Dat's the end of this chapter._**


End file.
